The Vinyl LP Resurrection Collection

Not as Halloween-y as it looks

2011-10-31T04:20:00.000-07:00

I grabbed this album because I liked the cover, and have always been curious about Spike Jones, that irreverent bandleader/musician I first heard about from comedian George Carlin in one of his comedy performances.

Based on the cover, I thought perhaps this would be an album of Halloween-type songs, but it's not, really. Still a lot of fun, though! Listen for the legendary voice actor, man-of-a-thousand-voices, Mel Blanc doing a "drunken", hiccuping verse in track 3, "Clink Clink Another Drink", as well as a truly ridiculous version of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" on track 7. Happy Halloween everyone!

Them Old Country Songs

2011-09-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

I find I've been listening to a lot of bluegrass music lately. That tends to happen in the summer - there's something about bluegrass that has an "outside in the warm weather" feel to it, at least for a city dweller like me.

As I listen, I realize that while I often say "I don't like country music" ... I actually like a lot of country music. Now, this isn't bluegrass music (however, this post from 2010 is), but all of this made me think of "Them Old Country Songs", a 3-LP set I picked up many years ago for a few bucks. This is that old-school kinda country music, full of soul and heartache.

Three LPs worth of music means there's a lot of stuff here. Particularly notable though, and by far my favourite track, is "Down Yonder" (LP 1, track 4) - a wild honky-tonk piano piece from 1951 played by Del Wood (a.k.a. Polly Adelaide Hazelwood - a woman in the 1950s country music scene! My goodness!). There is also a version of "Tell It Like It Is" (LP 3, track 2), popularized by Aaron Neville, as well as the upbeat "This Ole House" by Stuart Hamblen, later covered by Rosemary Clooney, mother of now-famous George Clooney (well somewhat famous, but what has he done lately? *snicker*)

Anyway, it's a "who's who" of old country, if there ever was one!

MORE Johnny Puleo and his Harmonica Gang

2011-08-08T04:20:00.000-07:00

... and now we get more into the "specialty" side of Johnny Puleo with Volumes 3 and 4 of his LP series.

In Volume 3, we get "Molto Italiano!", a collection of Italian-themed, all-harmonica renditions of songs such as "Sicilian Tarantella", "Funiculì, Funiculà", and the similarly operatic "O Sole Mio". The similarities in sound between the harmonica and the accordion is quite evident here.

Volume 4 is dedicated to "Western Songs" such as "Home on the Range" and "San Antonio Rose", for a distinct 'out riding fences, sitting by the campfire' feel.

JOHNNY PULEO and his Harmonica Gang

2011-07-18T04:20:00.000-07:00

Johnny Puleo has been a staple of my vinyl collection for many years now. I must have been only 15 or 16 when, as a nerdy music student, eager to listen to anything and everything "unusual" (clearly, I never really grew out of that), I picked up Volume 2 of this series of albums from Johnny Puleo and his Harmonica Gang for about 25 cents at a flea market. Years later, after thinking I'd NEVER find Volume 1 to complete the set, I found Volume 1 (but didn't complete the set - more on this later).

"The only instruments used on this recording and harmonicas or mouth organs!", the back cover proudly declares. Indeed, it's nothing but harmonicas, but if you like harmonicas, especially a bunch of 'em all together, it's nothing but fantastic. It's mostly corny old music but these guys really make their harmonicas sing. You may recognize Aram Khatchaturian's "Sabre Dance" (Volume 2, track 2) as the Buffalo Sabres' hockey team theme music often played during their home games, like I did (memories of old-school Hockey Night in Canada!) - but you've never heard it like this.

Not enough Johnny Puleo for you? Stay tuned for MORE Johnny Puleo, up next.

CALYPSO with The Mighty Sparrow

2011-06-05T04:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been WAY too long since the last LP resurrection. What can I say, I get lazy and tend to put things off unless someone says "hey man, why no blog posts lately?" So if you're an active follower of this blog who has been patiently waiting, and can't bear to go another three months until the next post after this, feel free to bug me about it and it might coax me to get off my arse.

Anyway, this post is for "Gale" and "FredrikO", two readers who have requested MORE CALYPSO after listening to some music from Trinidad and Tobago on the very first post on this blog. Request granted!

The Mighty Sparrow is sometimes referred to as the "Calypso King of the World", and considering he's won numerous important calypso competitions (quite often more than any other calypsonian), it's an appropriate title.

Always known for being outspoken, a notable track on this album is track number 9, "No Future", where Sparrow warns what might happen to you if you choose a life of drugs: "... brother, you ain't got no future, you ain't got no hope ... you might think you're dead, 'til somebody said, 'poor little bloke, he went off on dope." - kind of a "Just-Say-No calypso" (or "calyps-NO"?), if you will. Great summer music! Enjoy!

Happy "Rabbie Burns" Day!

2011-01-25T04:20:00.000-08:00

Today, Scots and poetry lovers alike are celebrating the birthday of Robert (a.k.a. Robbie/Rabbie) Burns, considered to be the greatest Scottish poet (and even the greatest Scottish person) of all time.

Admittedly, this album has nothing to do with Robert Burns, except for being made by Andy Stewart, another Scot. But who cares, right? Robbie Burns Day is often a celebration of Scottish culture as much as it is a celebration of the famed poet.

Andy Stewart was a musician from Glasgow who had a number of international hit singles in the 1960s. Since this LP seems to have two front covers (pictured) rather than a definite front and back cover, it's possible that this is actually two albums in one, or perhaps a compilation of his biggest hits.

The track "Scottish Soldier", written by Stewart, is known by many fans of old-school professional wrestling as the entrance theme for "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (who is actually Canadian, but used his Scottish heritage as inspiration for his wrestling persona). The lyrics for "other" title track, the tongue-in-cheek "Donald, Where's Your Troosers?", is said to have been written by Stewart in 10 minutes while sitting in a bathroom with his "troosers"'round his ankles. Kind of a comedy-crossover song, the song pauses about halfway through, and Stewart wonders aloud if the song needs more "international appeal". Then the first verse is repeated - Elvis Presley-style! (and what a great impersonation!) - before going back to the original Scottish version. It's a bonny LP! Pour yourself a wee dram and have a listen!

Gerry Rafferty, 1947-2011

2011-01-10T04:20:00.000-08:00

On January 4, 2011, the music world said goodbye to Gerry Rafferty, a Scottish musician best known for two late-70s hit songs that continue to be radio staples to this day: "Baker Street", which is instantly recognizable for its saxophone solo, as well as the more laid-back "Right Down The Line". Before that, he was also a part of the early 70s group Stealers Wheel, the band behind the song "Stuck in the Middle With You" (a song that had a resurgence in popularity in the early 90s, after being used in the rather gruesome "ear cutting" scene in Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs).

In honour of Rafferty's passing, this post features this self-titled compilation album from 1974, a collection of songs written by Rafferty and recorded by yet another band he was a part of, The Humblebums. Interestingly, this band also had Billy Connolly as a member, mostly known these days as a stand-up comedian and character actor who has appeared in a number of Hollywood movies.

Chassidisco Fever!

2010-12-27T04:20:00.000-08:00

Recorded and released in Israel in 1978, CHASSIDISCO FEVER is now the second LP inspired by the mega-popular Saturday Night Fever movie soundtrack to be featured on this blog (after Sesame Street Fever! back in 2008).

I picked up this record in small record shop in the town of Peterborough, Ontario, a rather unlikely place for an album like this (the title, by the way, is a play on "Chassidism", a branch of Orthodox Judaism). So at first, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Was this a parody album? But then I turned to the back cover and saw lyrics such as "Thy my help come from the Lord, who created heaven and earth ... Hear, O Israel! Our God is an eternal unity" - pretty heavy lyrics for a parody album, and all of the song titles were in Hebrew. When I played the record, I found out that's it's indeed real disco music, and actually sung in Hebrew too.

So I suspect it's a wee bit of both - serious late 70s Israeli disco music, with a nod to the 1977 mega-hit American film. The album consists of five tracks - four on the first side, with Ricki Gal (probably not her real name) providing vocals. The second side is entirely dedicated to the 18-minute instrumental disco epic CHASSIDISCO.

This track, in my opinion, is where the real "fever" lies. While the main theme (which is repeated intermittently throughout, and sounds a lot like the music in an often-played heartburn medication commercial here in Canada) gets a little tiring after while, there's some good stuff in between. At various points in the piece we hear solos from a flute, a saxophone, some bongo drums with a triangle, an electric guitar, and a funky bass guitar. Particularly notable is an interlude around the 8:50 mark that sounds amazingly like the syncopated horn-and-sax bit in Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Sir Duke". Mechaieh indeed!

Thanks for your support in 2010 - have a happy, happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Oh, for the love of Steve Allen!

2010-09-29T04:20:00.000-07:00

Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (1921-2000), best known simply as Steve Allen, was known for a lot of things. He was the original host of the long-running (and still running) NBC television series The Tonight Show (so he never needed to worry about being booted to make way for of Jay Leno). He was the host of several other television shows, such as The Steve Allen Show, The New Steve Allen Show, and The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, as well as several others that did not actually have the name "Steve Allen" in the title.

He once appeared on The Simpsons to poke fun at himself for all of these self-named works, by talking about some of his books: "How to Make Love to Steve Allen", "Happiness Is a Naked Steve Allen", "Journey to the Center of Steve Allen", and "The Joy of Cooking Steve Allen". While these book titles were merely made up for a joke, Allen was nevertheless a prolific author as well, having penned over 40 books over the course of his lifetime.

I feel like the name "Steve Allen" hasn't been used enough in this post yet, so - STEVE ALLEN! STEVE ALLEN!

As if all of this wasn't enough, he was also an accomplished musician and composer, writing over 10,000 songs during his lifetime. The album featured here - "Electrified Favorites" - is from 1958 and features Allen doing bouncy swing/jazz tunes (some his, some written by others) on a Wurlitzer electric piano. This is a different instrument than the one featured in an earlier post on this blog, which was more like a pipe organ.

Sadly, Mr. Allen died in 2000 from injuries sustained in a vehicle accident, just short of his 79th birthday. It's a real shame, because I can't help but think we would have seen more great stuff from him if he had been around longer. Well, at least we have a few (read: hundreds) things to remember him by.

Now circle right, the other way back,make yer feet go wickity-whack.

2010-08-30T04:20:00.000-07:00

Before he was corrupted by the American right wing, former Saturday Night Live cast member Dennis Miller could a pretty funny guy. Known for his cynicism, and for routines filled with plenty of pop culture references, he once talked about his contempt for square dancing - "when I go to dance, I go to express myself. These people are into being ordered around the floor by some neo-fascist Sam Drucker ... some sort of bizarre B.F. Skinner hoedown ..."

He makes a good point; indeed, square dancing probably isn't the thing to do if you really want to cut loose on the dance floor, but that doesn't necessarily make it easy. Square dancing is almost always thought of in an American context, but is actually from the UK originally, and bears a resemblance to Scottish country dancing. This is an album of square dance calls from Carson Robison and his Pleasant Valley Boys, recorded some time in the 1950s. Although he passed away over 50 years ago, Robison was very well regarded as an important influence on early American country music.

If you're not sure what to expect of this, and you're familiar with old Bugs Bunny cartoons, I can tell you that listening to this album will almost certainly remind you of these guys:

First, you spread your limbo feet.Then, you move to limbo beat.

2010-07-28T04:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, drop everything. It's time for a limbo party. Got a pole? That's about all you need. So get a pole, if you don't have one already, call some friends over, and get to it. It's fun, and it's a perfect theme for a summer party. How low can YOU go?

Although often mistaken as a Hawaiian invention, the limbo dance actually originated on the island of Trinidad. The name of the dance comes from the local pronunciation of the word "limber" - clearly the most important quality of a good limbo dancer. Since it was fun and got people up and moving about, the dance came to be a very popular fad in North America in the 1960s.

For your party, we have not one, but two albums of limbo music, enough to last until that limbo pole is as close to the floor as it can get.

First up is Lord Jayson and his Limbo Gang, who don't really sound like an authentic limbo/calypso group but they get the job done.

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We've also got an album from Chubby Checker, best known for his 1960 mega-hit "The Twist", as well as "Let's Twist Again" a year later. He must have had a thing for follow-up songs, because he released two limbo-themed albums (1962's "Limbo Party" and 1963's "Let's Limbo Some More") during the height of the limbo craze in the 60s. Actually, he was probably a major reason for the fad to begin with.

"a rollicking album for young and old"

2010-06-01T04:20:00.000-07:00

So it has been a wee bit quiet around here lately, but we return with a set of infectiously toe-tappin' tunes from 1956 by "Pee Wee" and "Fingers", on trombone and piano, respectively.

The back of this album declares "a musical first: Mr. Ragtime meets Mr. Dixie", and that's a great description for it. A fusion of Ragtime and Dixieland music, it's got enough tinkling piano riffs and muted, "wah wah" trombone to last you all summer.

"Pee Wee", in real life, is actually jazz trombonist, vocalist and band leader W. Gerrard Hunt III, while Joe "Fingers" Carr is a nickname for pianist and music producer Louis Ferdinand Busch.

With only 12 songs, the longest running only two and a half minutes, it's a shame there isn't more!

Bluegrass! with The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers

2010-04-22T04:20:00.000-07:00

The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers were an early band known mostly for their contributions to the world of bluegrass music. Formed way back in 1938 by cousins Ray, Ezra, and Ned Cline, they went through a number of personnel changes (including one that was needed after Ned Cline died in World War II), and eventually disbanded around 1966.

Although founding member Ezra Cline passed away in 1984, the band reunited for a reunion album in 1988, with Ray Cline's son taking Ezra's place. In October of 2009, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

I haven't been able to get much info on this specific album, but it appears to be a compilation, and it's positively SIZZLING. These guys can really play, and since this is truly first-generation, "old school" stuff, it's about the purest bluegrass music I've ever heard. One stand-out track is their recording of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (track 3). Written by "The Father of Bluegrass", Bill Monroe, originally as a slow waltz in 3/4 time, the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers crank up the tempo and play it in 4/4 time instead. This song was later recorded by a number of other artists, including Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney, among others.

... ok, seriously now.

2010-04-07T04:20:00.000-07:00

Readers, Fans, Music Lovers ... lend me your ears.

As you may have guessed, that last post ("What Is Money, Anyway?") was an April Fool's joke, since, of course, very few people actually like income tax season, and while a presentation about the history of money may by interesting in some regards, it ain't exactly "good time listening". More "serious" posts are coming soon, but I wanted to take a minute to clarify a few things about this blog, and its possible future.

After I started this blog, I often wondered about the legal issues around it, specifically with regards to copyright issues. After all, one of the great things people love about The Vinyl LP Resurrection Collection is that you can come and check out all this free "resurrected" music. However, having this available requires taking a certain amount of liberties with greyish-area legal matters. On one hand, most music is copyrighted in some way, but since in most cases, this is music from old records, the copyright holders are less likely to take issue with it being freely available. I almost like to think that some people might come to this blog, learn about an artist and their music, and maybe even buy an album of theirs based on what they discover here.

This issue hit home recently when a post on this blog was removed after a copyright violation was reported. Regular readers might remember a post featuring 1970s funk/disco group Shalamar and their album Uptown Festival on this blog for a short while, but since removed. So, to help avoid having this happen again (and for the greater good, since further infractions might result in the whole blog being removed), I have removed the links from each post that allow you to download the whole album, and want to stress that the music on this blog is for previewing purposes only.

If you are copyright holder of any of this music, and would like to have it removed, kindly let me know first, before reporting it to the good folks at Blogger, or the equally good folks at Box.net, our media storage provider. I will be happy to remove it as soon as possible.

Hopefully these measures will help everyone to be able to continue discovering all this great music that might be forgotten otherwise. Thanks for your continued support!

Cheers, Ryan

What Is Money, Anyway?

2010-04-01T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ah, it's that time of year again - everyone's favourite season. INCOME TAX SEASON. My oh my, just the sound of those three words is enough to make any working person sigh contentedly and think of those joyful months of February through April, where we communally experience that magical thing we call "doing our income taxes". With all those long hours of confusing-but-exhilarating number crunching (and who doesn't love a challenge?) and barely understandable little rules and exceptions (but figuring them out is fun!), combined with the excitement and suspense of waiting to find out whether you'll have to pay MORE taxes rather than getting money back, I think it's safe to say that EVERYONE loves this season way more than any other annual holiday or event, including Christmas. VIVA INCOME TAX SEASON!

So, since we just can't seem to get enough "money talk" this time of year, and never get tired of thinking about it, let's delve a bit deeper into the history of money itself with a fun little audio presentation called "What Is Money, Anyway?", brought to us by the good folks at Standard Life. A great way to make the already super-fun INCOME TAX SEASON even more super-fun!

As a Canadian production, this program is also offered en francais with the title "L'Argent, C'est Quoi En Realité?".

Happy Love Day

2010-02-14T08:02:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Valentine's Day, we have two "love album" selections for you and your sweetheart's listening pleasure.
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First is the aptly-titled LP "The Love Album" by Trini Lopez, an American singer of Mexican descent who was very popular in the 1960s for his "Latinized" versions of American pop hits, and still performs today.

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Second, we have selections from "Open Fire, Two Guitars" by Johnny Mathis, an icon in the realm of "romantic" music. I say "selections from" because this LP was not in the best condition; as a result, a few tracks were unplayable. The upside is that it's still a bit "crackly", so it's perfect if you have a fireplace to sit in front of with your sweetie, and let the album crackles complement the fireplace crackles.

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah, singin' fi, fie, fiddly-i-o

2010-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

Born Maurice Beaulieu in Edmunston, New Brunswick in 1920, Maurice Bolyer became known as "Canada's King of the Banjo".

He performed frequently on various radio and television shows in Canada and the United States, most notably as a regular on The Tommy Hunter Show in the 1960s and 70s. Aside from the banjo, he was skilled at a number of other instruments, particularly the piano. He passed away in 1978, but was eventually inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.

I bought this album for next to nothing, mainly for a larf, but WOW ... I had no idea how good he was. This guy could strum on the ol' banjo like nobody's business - and did so with a big smile on his face the whole time (check out the cover, or watch this YouTube video). The LP itself was pretty beaten up, so I had to take a few tracks out completely, and it's a bit "noisy" in spots. But worry not, because Maurice's mad banjo skills will make you forget all of that.

Feel like crying?

2009-12-31T06:21:00.000-08:00

Are you sad because Santa didn't bring you what you wanted? Or because you don't have someone to kiss at midnight on New Year's Eve?

Well, at least you don't have it as bad as these poor folks seem to think. This is a compilation of 24 "sad" songs from our friends at K-Tel, the Winnipeg-based company that churned out all kinds of compilations in the 60s, 70s, and beyond (along with various non-music items like "The Micro-Roast", designed to help you prepare "perfectly browned, crispy, juicy meats in your microwave!").

The "cornball factor" is through the roof on a lot of these songs, so you may be less likely to cry, and more inclined to laugh in some cases. The lead-off track, "Tell Laura I Love Her", the woeful tale of a young man who enters himself in a car race, in order to win money to buy a wedding ring for the love of his life (sniff!), has always been notable for me as a prime example of this kind of "teenage tragedy song". "Two Faces Have I" (ah-I ... yi-yi-yi-yi-ya-ha-hi!!) actually made me chuckle out loud when I first heard it.

Another crying shame is the fact that this album had a few irreparable skips on it. Normally in a case like this I'd leave the track out, but for the sake of "completeness", I've added non-skipping versions of each track anyway (to the hard-core vinyl purists, I apologize).

Finally, is it me, or does the motorcycle guy on the cover look like he's trying to help take the tears away by putting his hand down his pants? :D

Thanks to the fans of this blog for a great 2009! Happy New Year, and see you all in 2010!!

I'm dreaming of a ...

2009-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

White Christmas is comprised of selections from the soundtrack to the highest-grossing movie of 1954, a Christmas-themed movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. The film is a story about two entertainers, formerly army buddies, who put on a Christmas show to help their former commanding officer out of a jam.

Most of the songs are not even Christmas songs, except for the title track, so if you're sick of Yuletide tunes already, not to worry.

There might be a wee skip here and there but nothing major. Enjoy, and may all your Christmases be white!

A Christmas Together

2009-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Together is the soundtrack of a 1979 television Christmas special starring the late, great John Denver along with the cast of The Muppets, the brainchild of the late, great Jim Henson.

There are lots of fun little songs on this album, from holiday classics performed by the whole cast ("The Twelve Days of Christmas", "Deck The Halls"), to original songs written specifically for this TV special ("When The River Meets The Sea"). The in-house band, Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, do their take on "Little Saint Nick", a Christmas song originally performed by The Beach Boys.

Getting the original video can be difficult, since it has never been "officially" issued on DVD or even VHS, however it appears some people who had the foresight to record this (and actually HAD a VCR in 1979, relatively few did) are now offering "bootleg" DVD copies for sale. I wouldn't wanna rat anyone out, but they're around.

Filmi Fest

2009-11-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Most people have some kind of "I've always wanted to go there, ever since I was young" kind of place. Ten years ago this month, I was lucky enough to be able to go to that place, after about a year of working two jobs and saving whatever extra money I had. For some people, it's all about backpacking around Europe; for me, I was always fascinated by India. So in November of 1999, I packed my bags and took off to India to just do "whatever" for a few months.

While there, I managed to see a few of the latest "Bollywood blockbusters" of the time - two of them at the stunning Raj Mandir Cinema in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Since there were no subtitles, I really didn't understand much (although Indian movie scripts often have this weird tendency to switch randomly from Hindi to English every so often), but it's always a good time, and I've always liked Indian music. So, to mark this anniversary, I offer a few of the Bollywood movie soundtracks I have collected on vinyl - in all cases, I wasn't really searching for these albums, they just turned up in record shops, often in the "world music" section.
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Hariyali Aur Rasta ("The Greenery and the Road") is a black-and-white oldie from 1962, so the music is definitely not like anything you'd hear these days. It's a romantic flick, so most of the songs are melodious love songs backed up by string orchestra, which has always been popular in Bollywood music, particularly back in the "old days".

Most songs are sung by hugely popular Lata Mangeshkar, whose music was featured in a previous post on this blog, in some cases doing a duet with the equally famed male singer Mukesh.

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Nikaah (an Arabic word roughly translated as "marriage contract"), released in 1982, was a film that dealt with the relatively touchy subject (for the time) of divorce within the Indian Muslim community.

It was directed by B.R. Chopra who was well-known for directing these types of "social commentary" films. As is often the case with people in the Hindi film industry, Chopra is from a "film family"; his brother Yash Chopra (see next entry) and nephew Aditya Chopra are also popular film directors.

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Directed by Yash Chopra, Chandni ("Moonlight"), released in 1989, became a huge box-office hit. It's basically the same love-triangle story that has been explored in countless other Hindi movies, but for some reason it struck a chord and eventually had a major influence on the industry. Its massive success, along with other films of the day, helped bring about a shift away from the violent action movies popular in the late 1980s, towards films with more romantic and family-based themes.

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Contrary to what I just said about the shift to fewer violent action films in the late 80s, Tujhe Nahin Chhodunga, also released in 1989, is clearly a bloody shoot-'em-up affair. Based on the cover, everybody has a gun, or possibly a grenade, and is about to kill or get killed (or, in the case of the young lady, perhaps have bad things happen to them after their judgment is impaired by drinking two glasses of wine at a time).

While most of the of music on the other albums featured here is carefully crafted, this is more of the hastily-thrown-together "potboiler" stuff, often featuring synths and disco beats. The track "Bum Chic Bum" is particularly notable for this.

Kinda punk, kinda lounge, kinda-sorta funk ... rich and tasty like Butter (08)

2009-10-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Released in 1996, this album is not from the "golden vinyl era" by any means. I just happen to have it on vinyl, since 1996 was a year of "vinyl obsession" of sorts for me and I tended to buy anything I could on LP instead of CD. Listening to this album again recently, I was reminded of how thoroughly it rocks, so I felt it needed to be resurrected.

Butter 08 was a collaboration of several musicians from different groups, including Yuka Honda and Miho Hatori from Cibo Matto, and Russell Simins from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Intended to be a side project, they released only one self-titled album, on the Beastie Boys' now-defunct Grand Royal label. I was really into Cibo Matto at the time (still am), so I was compelled to see them during what was probably their only tour, at Lee's Palace in Toronto. It was an incredible, high-energy show that included a big freaky guy in a Yoda mask who busted out on stage and started jumping around and providing "yelling" vocals (you can hear him on the track "Degobrah").

The music is a mish-mash of raucous neo-punk ("9MM", "It's The Rage", "Degobrah"), laid-back lounge ("How Do I Relax"), funky guitars ("Shut Up", "Hard To Hold"), and Beck-esque lo-fi grooves ("What Are You Wearing", "Sex Symbol"). It's not for everyone, to be sure, but if you like any of these genres, or if you're a Cibo Matto fan, you'll likely dig some of the stuff from Butter 08.

Listen for the incongruous Hall & Oates homage at the beginning of "It's The Rage". They also made a video for the track "Butter 0f 69" that I didn't know about until I started writing up this blurb - it can be found here:

[Link to "Butter Of 69" video]

Happy Birthday to Blog!

2009-10-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it's about two weeks late, but The Vinyl LP Resurrection Collection has a birthday this month! To celebrate one year of resurrecting vinyl recordings to today's convenient digital format, we'll take a cue from the very first post on this blog, and go around the world again!

Last year, we went to New Orleans, hopped over to Greece, went back to the Americas into Trinidad and Tobago, and then finished our world tour in India.

This time, let's start in the east and head west: this year's world tour will start in China, then to South Africa. After that, we jet over to Brazil, and then relax for a while in sunny Barbados!
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Paul Horn is an American jazz/New Age flautist known as an innovator who has recorded a number of albums in "sacred" places, such as the Taj Mahal in India and the Potala Palace in Tibet. On this album, simply titled "China", he is given permission to play in the Temple of Heaven outside the Forbidden City in Beijing. Accompanying him is David M.Y. Liang, who plays along on other Chinese instruments.

The pieces on the first side are best described as a fusion of modern jazz and traditional Chinese, but the second side (track 4 onward) is where the more traditional pieces are found. Particularly beautiful is track 7, "Riding On The Wind", a sparse, ethereal piece featuring a bass flute and a Chinese zither called a ch'in.

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Amaduduzo is a Mbube group from South Africa. Mbube is a musical genre popularized in large part by the group known as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and may sound familiar to anyone who has heard Paul Simon's 1986 album Graceland.

A good chunk of the music on Siyabamukela consists of a cappella voices, while some passages feature light instrumental backup by traditional African instruments. A few songs are complete with full-on synthesizers and thumping bass beats. Personally I prefer the more subdued, traditional stuff, so if you're like me, you may want to skip the title track (track 1), and its reprise on track 5.

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I bought this album several years ago, and have always enjoyed listening to it. Unfortunately I have not been able to find much info on Clara Petraglia online, but one source put the release of this album in 1958. I can describe it as very simple folk songs sung in two-part harmony - Ms. Petraglia's voice is double-tracked and she accompanies herself on the guitar.

Sadly, some damage on the edge of this album has rendered the first track of both sides unplayable, and the album is a bit scratchy, so getting rid of all of the noise was neither easy nor entirely possible. Nevertheless, I think you'll enjoy this just the same.

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The Merrymen are a very popular and long-running group from the island of Barbados. Formed in the early 1960s, they became key players in the popularization of Barbadian calypso in the 60s and 70s. They became popular beyond the shores of Barbados, particularly in Europe, and even played at Carnegie Hall, in New York City, early in their career. They are still releasing albums as of the mid 2000s.

The Barry Sisters RELOADED

2009-09-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Rosh Hashanah, we have more sweet tracks from our favourite swingin' Yiddish siblings, The Barry Sisters!

This album, "The Barry Sisters Sing", is brought to us by my new pal and a reader/listener of this blog, Ron Caddigan. You see, a few months ago, I posted an album of 'greatest hits' from the Barry Sisters, which prompted a comment from Ron saying how much he liked them as well. Since I didn't know Ron's name previously, I thought he was just a "random" person who had happened to visit this blog, but I found out later we were linked by about three or four degrees or separation, with Ron being the boyfriend of the daughter of the husband of an old friend of mine. So, we arranged to meet for lunch, and he entrusted me with this LP, so it could be featured on this blog as a sort of "Barry Sisters Part 2" kind of thing.

Like the 'greatest hits' album, this is full of sprightly tunes sung mostly in Hebrew/Yiddish (although there are some performed in English) by these two ladies who, perhaps by virtue of being sisters, have voices that seems to be meant to sing together. Lovely!

That's a Lot of Trombones

2009-09-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

A 21-trombone salute? For this album, jazz trombonist Urbie Green assembled a group of 21 of the world's greatest trombone players (I'm dying to make a joke using the word tromboner but I'm gonna keep it professional) and over the course of three days, recorded these "tromboney" renditions of mostly pop and jazz standards.

There are indeed 21 trombones in the ensemble playing all together - possibly the biggest 'bone ensemble ever known! If 21 'bones seems like so much 'bone you'll groan, keep in mind that it's all backed up by a guitar/bass/drum-n-percussion rhythm section to help tone down the 'bone. So get into the 'Bone Zone ... 'bone so melodious, you'll be thrown!

Jug Band Music sounds so sweet,sounds so sweet, it's hard to beat

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the theme of "hot weather" music, today's post features music from Jim Kweskin & The Jug Band. Maybe it's because jug band music originated in the American South, but listening to it always makes me think of hangin' out on the porch, keepin' out of the bright, hot sun.

The earliest jug band music came around the 1920s, with the Memphis Jug Band as one of the major players. In the early 60s, jug band music experienced a revival of sorts, and Jim Kweskin's group, based in Boston, was one of a small handful of groups to achieve nationwide popularity. It's interesting to note that some well-known names in music came from this latter-day jug band revival: both John Sebastian, later with The Lovin' Spoonful, and Maria Muldaur, who sang the 1974 hit "Midnight at the Oasis", played in the Even Dozen Jug Band (Muldaur was also a part of Kweskin's group, and can be heard on this album, particularly on tracks 5, 9, and 17). Members of The Instant Action Jug Band would later on join Country Joe and the Fish, a group well known for Vietnam war protest songs in the late 60s. Finally, a few lads named John, Paul, and George, who were members of the British skiffle group The Quarrymen, would go on to form a group called The Beatles, who I understand were quite popular in their day. Skiffle music differs from jug band music, but shares the same spirit of using a variety of homemade instruments such as washboards, cigar-box guitars, comb-and-paper kazoos, etc.

This is a 24-track, double-disc compilation of Kweskin's greatest, released in 1970 and is a great intro to jug-band revival music.

Hot Like Hawaii

2009-08-12T07:14:00.001-07:00

Hot, hazy days like this call for a bit of lazy, loungy summertime music. Santo & Johnny were an Italian-American pair of brothers from New York, who became best known for their instrumental hit "Sleep Walk". This was featured on their 1959 self-titled debut album and has since been used in countless films, TV shows and commercials, making it a very recognizable piece of music.

Two years later, in 1961, Santo & Johnny released this album of Hawaiian-influenced music. According to the back cover notes of this LP, "... there are only two kinds of people, those that have been to Hawaii, and those that dream about going there ... if you are one of the dreamers who have not yet made this most pleasurable of pilgrimages, this album will be your jet clipper or luxury liner straight to entertainment. The carefree joy, that urge to run away to a tropical island that is not too well hidden in all of us, is somewhat fulfilled when you sit back, close your eyes, and feel Hawaii all around you."

So there you go. It ain't quite Hawaii itself, but you'll save on airfare.

Suddenly - it's the Hi-Lo's

2009-07-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

The Hi-Lo's were a four-member vocal quartet formed in 1953, so named to reflect the vocal range of the group's singers. They were led by Gene Puerling, who became known for his densely-layered arrangements for a capella groups. He went on to work with similar groups such as The Manhattan Transfer and Take 6, and won a Grammy award in 1982 for his arrangement of "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square" as performed by The Manhattan Transfer. Sadly, he passed away in March 2008.

Suddenly It's The Hi-Lo's was released originally in 1957, and features a number of jazz and pop standards, as well as a version of "Brahms' Lullaby", arranged by Puerling. Much of the material is a capella but they are backed up by an orchestra led by Frank Comstock, a well-known composer and band leader who worked extensively in TV and film.

For more information on the Hi-Lo's, visit their still-functioning website here. If you have your speakers on, you will be greeted by the group singing "Welcome to the Hi-Lo's ... dot com. BOP!"

Jigs and Reels from Canada's Top Fiddlers

2009-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Canada Day, we have 16 Great Jigs and Reels by Canada's top fiddlers. This is another album I acquired on a recent trip to Manitoba.

What are jigs and reels? Why, they are Irish/Scottish folk dance forms, of course.

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What's that? Sixteen great Jigs and Reels not enough for you?

WOW. You're hardcore. Okay then, here's Volume 2, with sixteen more great Jigs and Reels.

Michael Jackson, 1958-2009

2009-06-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, the world was shocked to learn about the sudden death of one of the most successful pop musicians in history. Although he was beset by many problems during the last years of his life, Michael Jackson was clearly still a huge part of the lives of his fans, and continued to influence countless other musicians.

The Vinyl Resurrection Collection would like to honour the passing of Michael Jackson by featuring two of the biggest-selling albums of his career, Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). So, if you're not one of the tens of millions of people who already owns these albums anyway, I invite you to take a step back into the 80s and enjoy these super-mega-hits all over again.

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Just like countless others, I could not get enough of Michael Jackson's biggest album of all time when it was released in 1982. At the time I was a young lad who was just starting to develop my own musical identity, and this was positively mesmerizing. Never before (and perhaps never again) had I seen such a captivating showman. I watched the revolutionary 14-minute video for the title track over and over and over again, while my brother and I managed to convince our parents to buy us a "Making of Thriller" video, which was also played innumerable times. Thriller went on to become the biggest-selling album of all time, and continues to hold this record to this day, with worldwide sales of over 100 million units. Truly a landmark album by a landmark talent.

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Despite phenomenal success and popularity in the mid-80s, the follow-up album to Thriller did not come until five years later, with 1987's Bad. Although it has not sold as many units as its predecessor ("only" about 30 million as opposed to over 100 million), it did have more chart hits - five out of the album's ten tracks became Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles, the first and currently the only album to ever achieve this number.

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We hope you find peace, Michael. We just can't stop loving you.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I got to be startin' somethin'.

We Miss You, George

2009-06-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

A year ago today, the world said goodbye to George Carlin, a man considered by many, including myself, to be among the funniest people who ever lived. George Carlin was not just a comedian, he was also a wordsmith, philosopher, and observer (mostly a critic) of the human condition. After a career spanning nearly 50 years, he sadly died of heart failure on June 22, 2008, four days after it was announced that he was to be awarded the 11th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He was 71 years old.

To mark the one-year anniversary of his passing, this post features four of George Carlin's classic, "LP era" comedy albums - Class Clown (1972), Occupation: Foole (1973), On the Road (1977), and A Place For My Stuff (1981). These are from back in the day when if you wanted to listen to him, you had to actually get the album - or in my case, growing up in the 80s, the cassette tape - and not just look him up on YouTube.

Since these albums are now available in a modern-day format, I certainly don't wish to offend the Carlin family by offering these albums on my blog (for free), and if I do, I deeply apologize. I simply want more people to experience the magic of this man, a true comedy master.

Also, a warning is in order: You probably know this already, but if you don't, please keep in mind that George Carlin was not afraid to use "bad" words (indeed, "bad words" are the very basis of his classic "Seven Words You can Never Say On Television" routine, found on the "Class Clown" album), so keep this away from the kiddies and anyone with cuss-sensitive ears.

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Class Clown (1973) was George Carlin's third comedy album. It was with this album, particularly his famous "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" routine, that he started a shift from mainly clean, satirical material into more profanity-laced stuff dealing with topics such as religion, the Vietnam War, and various bodily functions.

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Occupation: Foole (1974) was the follow-up to 1973's Class Clown. The final track, "Filthy Words", is basically an "update" to his "Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television" routine (after being reminded about several other words you can't say on TV). This is a good example of Carlin's propensity for developing and reworking routines over months or years. On the first part of the album, there is quite a bit of material about Carlin's upbringing in New York City.

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On The Road (1977) was George Carlin's seventh album, released a year before he suffered a heart attack and took some time off, not releasing another album until four years later.

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This album has been made possible through grants from the following organizations:

- The Institute For Yahtzee Theory
- The Society For The Preservation of Spanish Rice
- The Bank for People on Horseback
- The International House of Cream and Sugar
- The National Society of Total Peckerheads

Just a taste of the more bizarre and less politically-charged comedy you'll find on A Place For My Stuff (1981), Carlin's eighth comedy album. It is unique in that it consists of not just stand-up material - including one of his best-known routines, the titular "A Place For My Stuff" - but also some studio-recorded "announcements" that parody typical TV and radio commercials.

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We miss you you, Mr. Carlin ... but you're still making us laugh.

Music of the Stripper (and other fun songs for the family ...?)

2009-06-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

I got this LP on a recent trip to Manitoba (among other LPs, which will be featured in future posts).

David Rose was a British-American songwriter and bandleader, perhaps best known for his composition "The Stripper", that trombone-driven piece used in countless cartoons, TV shows, and movies whenever a "sexy" situation comes up. This LP continues in the same tradition of sassy, "wah wah wah" orchestral music perfect for doing a dance to impress your gal or your guy. It's not overtly sexy by any means but it might just put that little extra spring in your step.

The Best of The Barry Sisters

2009-04-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

Once known as the Bagelman Sisters, Clara and Minnie Bagelman were best known professionally as The Barry Sisters. They are originally from the Bronx, New York, and occupied an important space in a relatively obscure musical genre: Yiddish jazz. That's right, these ladies took swingin' jazz/lounge songs (as well as jazz-ified non-jazz songs), translated them into Yiddish, and sang them with some seriously sweet sisterly harmony. This, like the last post on this blog, was one of those "accidental" finds, but I'm so happy I spent the $2 or whatever it was to get this. It's a great listen!

Red Nichols and the Five Pennies

2009-04-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

Red Nichols was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader active from the 1920s until his death in 1965. He was probably best known for his big hit "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider", in 1927.

His life was portrayed by Danny Kaye in the 1959 semi-autobiographical film The Five Pennies, which was nominated for four Academy Awards.

This album falls squarely into the "hey, I have no idea what this is, but it looks like fun and only costs 75 cents, let's see what happens" category, but it turned out to be a good gamble. This also explains why I don't know much about the band otherwise, and had to pull most of the info above from Wikipedia ... lol. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, it's fun stuff indeed!

Play That Funky Music, Jedi

2009-03-25T08:17:00.001-07:00

When I was growing up, my brother and I used to get a kick out of repeatedly listening to a beaten-up 45 single of a "funk/disco" version of the Star Wars Theme that our parents owned. Years later, after the age of downloadable music arrived, I managed to find this track online and enjoyed it all over again.

So imagine my surprise when I went LP shopping recently, and found this album - "Star Wars and Other Galactic Funk" by funk/disco group Meco. OMG! Who knew a whole album existed?

But sure enough, this was it. If you've ever had the pleasure of hearing this track, and enjoyed it, you'll be delighted to hear the whole thing - it's about 15 minutes long, so unlike the single, it includes not just the Star Wars Theme and Cantina Band, but also "Imperial Attack", "The Land of the Sand People", and "Princess Leia's Theme", among others.

The second side claims to have 3 separate tracks, titled "Other", "Galactic", and "Funk", respectively, but upon listening to it, there is really just one long track taking up the whole side, so I'm just calling it "Other Galactic Funk".

So as a result, instead of this album having the usual 10 to 15 tracks like most albums, there are only two "extended" mixes. Star Wars lovers (and disco lovers) rejoice!

A St. Patrick's Day "Top o' the Mornin' Two-fer"

2009-03-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

To celebrate the day, it's a St. Patrick's Day "Top o' the Mornin' Two-fer", featuring Irish folk legends The Dubliners, as well as the Carlton Showband, a Juno Award-winning Irish-Canadian band formed in Brampton, Ontario in 1963.

First up is The Dubliners, an Irish folk band whose popularity spreads far beyond the shores of Ireland and into Europe and North America. "More of the Hard Stuff" is an early release of theirs from 1967, and is a follow-up to their album "A Drop of the Hard Stuff" released earlier that year. Irish folk songs, pure and simple! Some of the album is scratchy and there are a few minor skips, but in this case it's charming more than annoying.

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The Carlton Showband, formed in the 60s in Brampton, Ontario, were well-known in Canada for being the "house band" on the show "The Pig and Whistle", a popular Canadian musical variety TV series from the 1970s set in a fictional English pub.

This album, "The Best of the Carlton Showband", was released in 1973 and would end up being the first of several "best of" compilations, until the band's dissolution in 1996.

Today's Post-Hibernation Post: Mexicali Brass - a 5-Record Treasury

2009-03-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

After a long winter hibernation (I'm too embarrassed to admit I had "fallen off the wagon" with this blog so I'll tell you that what really happened is that I went on a three-month LP-buying frenzy, and didn't have time to post an entry. Sorry about that, but we're back now).

For those who are just about to take, are currently taking, or have just returned from, a trip to a sunny destination like Mexico, here is a 5-LP set of "Mexicali Brass" performed by the Longines Symphonette, a symphony orchestra sponsored by the Swiss watch company Longines (and mentioned in the song "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants: "My story's infinite / like the Longines Symphonette / it doesn't rest").

Described on the cover as "more ... of the new sound of gay Fiesta" (ya heard me), this is somewhat similar in style to the "Tijuana Christmas Party" album posted on this blog before, without the holiday themes. There's a whopping 50 songs here over the course of the 5 albums, so take your pick, you're likely to know at least a few of them.

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Christmas "in the Glenn Miller style"

2008-12-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

This album, entitled "Christmas Serenade", is a collection of Christmas standards done "in the Glenn Miller style", featuring the original Glenn Miller singers, The Modernaires.

Not much to say about this one, but it's upbeat and fun, and it just might remind you of being at your grandparents' place during the Christmas season when you were a kid (or last week)!

Enjoy! And have a Merry Christmas!

Party like it's Christmas 1977!

2008-12-16T19:00:00.000-08:00

I guess it makes sense that a company like K-Tel would have released this album back in 1977, at the height of the disco craze.

"Christmas Disco Party" is an album of disco-themed medleys of Christmas tunes. Although the cover says "25 Non-Stop Disco Hits", it's actually divided into 6 medleys, running about 6 minutes apiece, including a New Year's Eve medley to complete the holiday season (trust me, you will have had enough of this album LONG before New Year's Eve).

I'm not kidding, folks - this is pretty terrible stuff, listening to it now three decades later. As we know, the passage of time has not been kind to the general perception of disco music, and this certainly is not exempt from that. If you're anything like me, you might get a small initial giggle from this, but then get bored of it very quickly.

This is a Christmas disco party that would have me making excuses as to why I had to leave early. I post this on my blog as a musical artifact from Christmas past.

Christmas in Tijuana!

2008-12-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

The swingin' new sound of fun for listening and dancing!

This is an album of "Tijuana-ized" versions of your favourite Christmas songs. It's perfect for your next Christmas party, since it not only features songs appropriate for the season, but does so in a way that will help you think of sunny days and not the kind of nasty cold weather we expect during these months, at least for those of us from "the north". The best of both worlds!

Sesame Street Fever! Catch it!

2008-12-03T08:05:00.000-08:00

Released in 1978, a year after the super-smash hit film (and soundtrack) Saturday Night Fever, this is a great parody-slash-children's album featuring the Sesame Street gang, as well as an appearance from middle "Bee Gee" Robin Gibb.

The best part of this album is the cover and gatefold, a dead-on remake of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack that sold so many copies the year before. The four-panel "Grover and his disco moves" section in the middle of the gatefold is priceless.

The album features six songs, including disco-fied versions of Sesame Street classics such as "Rubber Ducky" and "C is For Cookie". The funniest one in my opinion is "Doin' the Pigeon", in which the always-grumpy Bert has "no intention of getting [Sesame Street Fever] ... everybody's dancing all over the place ... it's silly!" Eventually, though, Ernie convinces Bert to "get down", and soon enough, everyone is "Doin' the Pigeon".

Here is an image of the gatefold:

Let me hear your balalaikas ringing out

2008-11-11T11:44:00.000-08:00

The back cover of this LP explains: "If you were to wander into the dimly lit Russian Cafe in lower Manhattan called the Two Guitars on almost any evening you would find Sasha Polinoff entertaining the guests. As balalaika player extraordinaire and master of ceremonies Sasha sets the Slavic mood for the vodka, caviar and the Kiev cutlets."

So, straight from a Russian cafe in lower Manhattan (NYC, that is), by way of Moscow, here is an album of instrumental balalaika music from Sasha Polinoff. A balalaika is a three-stringed (sometimes six-stringed) instrument shaped like a guitar but with a distinctive triangular body.

So grab some vodka and caviar (like they serve at the Two Guitars cafe) and enjoy listening to the balalaikas ringing out!

Get It On! From RONCO!

2008-10-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

This is the first in an ongoing, occasional series of albums brought to us by RONCO and its Canadian doppelganger, K-tel. These albums were around everywhere in the 70s and 80s.

Here we have "Get It On!", a "20 original hits, 20 original artists" compilation released in 1974 by RONCO. Lots of different stuff - here are a couple of notable tracks:

a cover version of Bob Marley's "Stir It Up" by Johnny Nash (best known for his 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now")
A disco-fied version of "Also Sprach Zarathustra", a.k.a. the main theme from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
"Cover of the Rolling Stone" by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

Also some Barry White, two songs by The Ohio Players, and a track from the Broadway musical Godspell ("Day By Day"), among other various hitmakers of the mid 70s.

Oktoberfest ist Wunderbar!

2008-10-14T07:07:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Oktoberfest 2008, going on in Kitchener as I type, it's Oktoberfest ist Wunderbar!

This album features "Herr Oktoberfest" himself, Julius Rauchfuss, backed up by the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest Gemutlichkeit Band, recorded LIVE at the Alpine Club in Kitchener, Ontario, home of the largest Oktoberfest celebration outside Germany. I got this album close to the source, at a record shop in downtown Kitchener.

Sadly, track 11 ("Boarisch Bier") had an irreparable skip in it, so I have left this track out.

Hopefully this will help fulfill your Oktoberfest dreams if you can't make it to Kitchener (or Munich) this year!

Oh, No! It's Devo!

2008-10-09T08:55:00.001-07:00

This entry probably violates the "only on LP, not available on CD" guideline for this blog, but come on, check this out, it's too sweet to not include here.

This is the fifth studio album from Devo, released in 1982. I got it from a junk/record shop in Kitchener a few weeks ago. The album has a nifty built-in "stand" feature (see pics below) that allows you to display it proudly, as it is in our home now.

This is definitely more synth-y than earlier Devo stuff, but then again, it was 1982 ... everybody, even Rush, was mad for synths then.

Forgive me for getting all "political" on a music blog, but there is one track on this album that stood out for its lyrics. Maybe it's just a time-sensitive thing, and yeah, if I was American, I'd be a Democrat, but when listening to "Out of Sync" (track 3), I couldn't help but think of Sarah Palin:

"She's out of sync ...
and everyone around her knows that something is wrong ...
she's out of sync ...
she's got all the symptoms of a girl who skipped a beat ...
she's out of sync ...
and totally committed to living in a dark age ...
she's out of sync ...
constantly undoing what's already been done ...
she's out of focus, she's a warp in time,
she's discontinued, a break in the line."

Just sayin' is all.

dig the built-in stand!

Duane Eddy and his "Twangy" Guitar

2008-10-08T05:36:00.000-07:00

This entry features "twangy" guitar music from Duane Eddy, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

The album is entitled "Have 'Twangy' Guitar -- Will Travel" and was an early album of Eddy's, being released in 1958. Apparently it was followed in 1959 by another album of "twangy" guitar music called "The 'Twangs' the 'Thang'", then again in 1960 with "$1,000,000 Worth of Twang" (sort of a "twangy" triple-feature, if you will). If I had these other albums, I would have featured all three together, but sadly, I do not have them ... yet! I will keep my eyes open and maybe we'll see them in a future post! And by all means, if anyone else finds them, let me know.

Looks Like Fun! Some "naughty"comedy music from the 1950s(read: fairly tame by today's standards)

2008-10-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

This was an album I was given to convert to CD by a client (I have a little side gig converting LPs to CD for turntable-less folks who want to remain turntable-less, but be able to hear their old LPs).
This probably would have been classified as "naughty" or "risque" comedy music back in 1956 when it was released by Cliff Ferre. Today it's merely suggestive. No swear words at all, but innuendo galore. Most of the guffaws come from the singer making you think he's talking about one thing when he's talking about something totally different and innocent. For example, describing something sounding very much like his, ahem ... private parts, but it actually turns out to be ... well, I won't spoil it for you. (check out track 10, "Ain't It A Beauty" for the answer).

The Mighty Wurlitzer!

2008-10-07T08:05:00.001-07:00

This entry features music from the "Roaring Twenties" by Leonard Leigh on the Mighty Wurlitzer, a pipe organ originally designed to accompany silent movies. On this album are a number of standard pieces from the era, such as "'S Wonderful", "I'm Looking Over a Four Leaf Clover", and "Bye, Bye, Blackbird". Medleys abound!

... WORLD TOUR ... New Orleans - Greece -Trinidad & Tobago - India

2008-10-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

Ever since hearing the sitar on a few Beatles songs back when I was a teenager, I've become a fan of many different types of indigenous sounds and music throughout the world. To that end, our first entry is a "world tour" of different music from around the globe.

We'll start in New Orleans, then on to Greece. From there we go to Trinidad and Tobago, and finish off in India! Enjoy!
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from New Orleans: "Swingin' Dixie" from trumpeter Al Hirt.

Great music for your next Mardi Gras party!

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from Greece:

Bouzouki music from the album "Bouzouki Is Beautiful". A bouzouki is a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin, quite often heard after the word "OPA!" is shouted.

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With all due respect and props, Harry Belafonte this ain't; this is the real deal from Trinidad, the true home of Calypso music.

My favourite track on this album is by far is "Bye, Bye Blakie", in which Calypso Princess tell us all about her turbulent relationship, and subsequent break from, Lord Blakie (also a featured calypso artist on the same album). The refrain goes like this:

"Let go me, hon ... don't touch me, hon ... leave me alone, I want another man.

Try a next plan, like you can't understand, I don't want to hear your conversation.

I decided to leave you for sure, mister mean I don't want you no more, I pack up me t'ings and walk out your door, so what the hell you bothering me for?"

In the third verse, we hear a tearful Lord Blakie pleading with his woman to take him back:

"Well, I'm getting down on my knees, and I'm begging you darling, please ..."

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from India: bhajans (devotional songs) from Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata Mangeshkar is far and away India's most famous singer, and indeed one of the world's most prolific recording artists of all time. These songs were recorded circa 1968.

If you're thinking to yourself, "I've never heard Lata Mangeshkar sing", you may be wrong without knowing it. If you've ever watched or heard a musical number from an older "Bollywood" movie, there's a good chance it was Lata singing, since she was one of the dominant female singers in the industry and her talents were highly sought after.

The Vinyl Resurrection Collection! Listen for a while, and take home whatever you like!

2008-10-05T06:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Vinyl Resurrection Collection, a place for music "resurrected" from old vinyl LPs to the convenient, shareable, digital formats of today.

In the last several months, I've started a new hobby, converting old vinyl LPs to digital formats so they can be burned to CD, transferred to an mp3 player, or uploaded to the web for sharing. As a result, I've been buying up whatever looks interesting at thrift stores, garage sales, etc., and I've had some really great finds to add to my collection!

Which brings us to this blog. I'll be uploading these gems on regular basis so they can be downloaded, shared, and enjoyed by all! I'll be focusing on the more obscure "you'll-never-find-this-on-CD" kind of stuff but feel free to make any suggestions!

The first post will be a musical "world tour" including:

late 60s-era calypso music from Trinidad and Tobago
New Orleans "Swingin' Dixie" by Al Hirt
beautiful bouzouki music from Greece (from the aptly titled "Bouzouki is Beautiful")
bhajans from the wildly famous Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar, also from the late 1960s.

Have fun! Thanks for listening and stay tuned for more!