José Greco - Danzas Flamencas

Danzas Flamencas

José Greco
Danzas Flamencas

Choreographic and Musical Arrangements by José Greco

Recorded in Spain
Decca DL 9758

1954

Zambra Gitana

Fandango

Soleares

Tientos Clásicos

Tientos por Zambra

Seguiriya

La Cana

Alegrias

Sevillanas

Peteneras

Bulerias

Million Seller Hits - Les Baxter

Taste Of Soul

Million Seller Hits
101 Strings
Arranged and Conducted by Les Baxter

Recorded in London, January 1970
Alshire S-5188

La-La-La

Girl On The Boulevard

Tomorrow For Sure

She Lets Her Hair Down

A Taste Of Soul

A Study In Simplicity

Baby Take Me In Your Arms

Bahia Blanca

Lady Love

Jean

Pizzicato Riff

Amazonas

Yma Sumac - Fuego del Ande

Yma Sumac
Fulgo del Ande (Fire Of The Andes)
Capitol Records ST 1169
1959

This album was recorded twice, mono and stereo. This is the stereo release. Apparently the mono release is difficult to find. However the CD available online was mistakenly mastered from the monophonic release.

Well, there's tons of more insightful material to read online then here in the dusty Atomic Attic. I posted the cover here just because I love her work so much I just have to promote Sumac when I find a new album.

Much of the album sounds remarkably more like it was recorded in the early 60s. The sound seem a bit ahead of it's time. Dale Que Dale, a track on the A side features some pretty hip guitar work and is so very cool. But you can hardly go wrong with the more "traditional" folk tracks. Sumac does it all so very uniquely.

I would love it if someone like Sumac would walk into an American Idol try-out and blow today's music lovers out of their socks.

Below is a clipping I found tape to the record sleeve. Now I know Yma is pronounced E-ma!

Serenade For Love - Richard Hayman

Americano

Serenade For Love
Richard Hayman And His Orchestra
Mercury MG 20115

1956

From the back cover: The rich, resonant tone of Richard Hayman's virtuoso harmonica makes this album a fascinating blend of tender romance and lush sensuality; yet not too many years ago the 'mouth organ' was primarily regarded as an instrument for hillbilly bands and parlor buffoons. In fact, many people – including the American Federation of Musicians – didn't consider the harmonica an instrument at all, dismissing it completely as a "musical toy."

In recent years, the once lowly "French harp" has achieved considerable artistic stature in the music world. The AFM officially recognized it a while back, and it is currently enjoying great popularity as off-beat background music for serious TV drama and motion pictures. For example, the award-winning score for "The Little Fugitive" film was played entirely on the harmonica.

Much of the credit for the instruments's rise to legitimacy belongs to Richard Hartman, who's haunting waxing of "Ruby" – a top selling record in 1953 – made the public realize just how moving and exciting the harmonica can be when played by a master. His brilliant technique and expressive phrasing is well showcased here on 12 listenable tunes, among them the oldies  "It Had To Be You," "Oh! How I Miss You Tonight," "Winter "Wonderland," and Hayman's own composition "Skipping Along."

The New England-born Hayman, a self-taught musical genius, mastered bothy the harmonica and piano at an early age. He formed his own harmonica group whirl still in high school, and after graduation joined Borax Minnevitch's famous Harmonica Rascals. During the early forties, Hayman branched out with his own group in Hollywood. The versatile band leader is also an accomplished composer and arranger. He has an impressive list of movie music arrangement credits, and many of his original compositions have become standard repertoire for such famous long-hair aggregations as Arthur Fiedler's Boston Pops Orchestra and NBC Symphony. Listen now and Richard Hayman plays Something Money Can't By, Americano, Valse D'Amour, his own composition, Skipping Along, Oh How I Miss You Tonite, the ever popular It Had To  Be You and six other items designed for your very one "Serenade For Love."

From Billboard - April 14, 1956: Here's another package of lush, listenable mood music by Richard Hayman, highlighted by the orchestra leader's virtuosos harmonica work. Among the 12 selections – offering good jockey programming for romantic segs – are "Winter Wonderland," "It Had To Be You," "Dancer," and Hayman's own composition, "Skipping Along" (a favorite jockey theme disk). The title theme is carried out on the cover in  eye-catching – albeit non too subtle – fashion, with a guy and a gal struggling playfully on a white shag rug.

Something Money Can't Buy

Americano

Valse D'Amor

Skipping Along

Oh! How I Miss You Tonite

It Had To Be You

Dansero

Something To Remember You

Serenade To A Lost Love

Marianne

Tears On Satin

Winter Wonderland

Ghost Town 1952

Ghost Town 1952

This was a interesting purchase. An 8 side, 10 inch, 78 rpm private prep school Christmas project.

The name was so intriguing that I had to have it! All original songs written by the music teachers (I assume). The problem is the singing is recorded using more primitive equipment and you just can't understand the words.

Still, The Musical Magical Christmas Tree is quirky enough... with some odd screeching towards the end to be fun.

And the real treasure for me was that the cover art. It is terrific! The art is silk screened to paper which was fixed to the record book. VERY NICE piece of original art!

Soundproof - Ferrante And Teicher

The Sound Of Tomorrow Today!
Soundproof
Ferrante and Teicher

Cover Photo courtesy M.G.M. Pictures producers of "Forbidden Planet"
Westminster Records WP 6014
1956

From Billboard - September 8, 1956: All stops are pulled out to make this the most gimmicky hi-fi piano disk on the market. The highly accomplished team uses multi-tracking, altered tape speeds, gimmicked pianos, 17 microphones of various types, etc. There are many sounds here that have never been heard on a disk before, and most of the 12 selections are naturals for disk jockey variety. Try "Mississippi Boogie" for a sample. Among the selections are "What Is This Thing Called Love," Cumbanchero," etc.

What Is This Thing Called Love?

El Cumbanchero

Greensleeves

Mississippi Boogie

Mermaid Waltz

Man from Mars 

Baia

Breeze and I

Someone to Watch Over Me

African Echoes

Dark Eyes

Lover

Orchids In The Moonlight

The Sound Of Tomorrow Today!

Soundproof

Ferrante and Teicher

Cover Photo courtesy M.G.M. Pictures producers of "Forbidden Planet"

Westminster Records WST 15011

1958

From the back cover: What other duo-pianists can boast that they have played together wince the age of six? Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher were fellow prodigies at New York's famous Juilliard School of Music, and even while students they appeared as a team. After graduation they gave a few joint recitals, then decided to take time out to prepare a really distinctive repertoire. Together they returned to Juilliard, this time as fellow members of the faculty, and spent all their spare hours for the next year or so working over the standard pieces and cleansing them of every last hackneyed cliché. Their professional debut as a team took place quite a distance from eh concert hall, for they bowed in as a popular piano dup at New York's sophisticated penthouse might club, S[ivy's Roof. They were such a hit with the starlight crowd that they went on to more cosmopolitan boîtes like the Blue Angel, the Little Club and the Ritz-Carlton Terrace. Since 1947 they have been criss-crossing the country annually, winning laurels everywhere for what The New York Times called their "prodigious technical feats." Radio and television audiences know them for their guest stints on Piano Playhouse, and the Firestone, Telephone and Carnation courts. They have also appeared with leading symphony orchestra throughout the country. Their gift for blending the classic with the modern and the "heavy" with the "light," their extraordinary sensitivity, their technical perfection– these are just a few of the reason why one stern Manhattan critic, echoing the national consensus, called Ferrante and Teicher "the most exciting piano team of our time."

Peg-Leg Merengue

Brazil

Poinciana

Mama To Quero

Orchids In The Moonlight

Cumana

Tico-Tico

Frenesi

Mexican Hat Dance

Siboney

Loose Ends Merengue

La Cucaracha

Kiss Of Fire - The Exotica Sounds of de los Rios

Kiss Of Fire
The Exotic Sound of (Waldo) de los Rios
Columbia CL 965
1957

Available from online vendors, so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the original cover and liner note excerpts.

Rios moved to Spain in 1962 and committed suicide in 1977, a victim of acute depression.

This is a terrific Latin flavored mood/exotica set that features some "experimental" percussion and screeching strings.

Just when you think Rios' arranging style will fall back on typical period mood, he throws in some interesting sound or a surprise instrument to perk your interest.

From the back cover: In Argentina – and in the United States too – the name de los Rios is a hope for the future. At an age when most artists are only beginning to make their talents known, Waldo de los Rios has already attained international recognition as an artist, as a composer, as a conductor and as an arranger.

He was born in Buenos Aires on September 7, 1934. His choice of music as a career was influenced by his mother, the well-known folk singer, Martha de los Rios. He began his studies at seven and in due time was graduated from the National Conservatory of Music and Scenic Art with a degree of Professor in Music. His professional career began at thirteen, when he played the piano as accompanist to his mother, along with a band composed of guitars and instruments typical of Argentine folk music. He also toured with his mother, and developed a genuine and lasting interest in the music of the countries he visited.

The turning point in his career occurred when his mother asked him to make special orchestrations for some music she was planning to record. The resulting arrangements were so brilliant that he was signed by the directors of Columbia Argentina who, in turn, brought him to the attention of Columbia Records. His initial records in Argentina were enormously successful and helped to rekindle a national interest in the musical heritage. For this program, de los Rios has chosen a fascinating group of South American melodies, and arranged them for a dazzling array of instruments largely unknown to North America, in addition to using the resources of a regular orchestra. The songs are from the Argentine, Paraguay, Chile and Peru, and lose none of their natural flavor in de los Rios' imaginative settings.

A media luz
Camino a Belen
Pasionaria
Ay, Ay, Ay
Medley: India; Pajaro, Campana
Medley: Camba cual; Camba yeroky
El Choclo
Vamos, Pastoricillos
Nube Gris
La Tristeza y el Mar
Sol Alegre
El Humahuaqueno

The Touchables

The Touchables
20th Century-Fox Record Corporation S 4206
1968

This album was a great find at my local Goodwill. The bins seemed well picked over, but I found this LP sporting an interesting cover that promised to delivered some light 60s pop fun.

Side one did deliver the light 60s pop fun that I had hoped for. The surprise tune on the A side,The Chase, is a terrific piece of ping-pong fueled percussion. Side two really grabbed me. Sadies Theme and Christian & Melanie are track one and two. Those songs are experimental, by comparison to side one tracks. Christian & Melanie ends with a beautifully crafted orchestrated segment that has a hint of King Crimson Court Of The Crimson King. No one else may get that... but it struck me.

There is never a dull moment, even a cover of Jalousie on side two, done up in a 30s big band fashion, doesn't seem out of place because it is so odd in context of the rest of the music.

The Touchables Theme is the last track on the B side reminds me of early Pink Floyd (A Nice Pair). A lovely tune. What a great record!

Pipe Organ And Percussion

Song Of India

Pipe Organ And Percussion
Promenade Records 2228

Obscure budget percussion album from Promenade. No artist/orchestra listed. No date, although I'd have to guess early 60s because of the "ping-pong" effects.

For budget, this is pretty good stuff. Whoever recorded the album made some effort to blend all the instruments into a sound with personality. And the pipe organ/percussion approach is odd enough to hold your attention.

Also released as:

Fabulous Sounds Of The Pipe Organ And Percussion
Pirouette Records
RFM 64

Martin Goes Latin - Ray Martin

Portuguese Washerwomen

Martin Goes Latin
Ray Martin And His Orchestra
Imperial LP 9087
1960

Here's a somewhat obscure and great space age pop Latin album.

Ray Martin moved from Europe to the U.S. in 1957 and produced more than 2000 works until he returned to the UK in 1972.

This album fits nicely into what was happening in light pop in the early 60s.

The Latin Touch - Carlos Molina

Tico-Tico

El Compas Del Mambo

Latin Touch
Carlos Molina And His Orchestra
Coronet CX-270
Premier Albums Inc.

Somewhat obscure Latin album featuring Carlos Molina who, from the back cover, was engaged at New York's famous Biltmore Hotel. The jacket notes also go on to say that Molina, through radio, had the "distinction to have introduced the Tango, Rhumba and Conga in the United States for the first time, and he has been the headlining orchestra in every fine hotel in the country."

It is difficult to find any information on Molina. If he introduced all these forms to the American audience he did it long before this album was released. Coronet repackage this material from other Molina recordings including enough material to fill side "A" leaving side "B" filled with off-the-shelf traditional South American tracks. Also see Mambo Jumbo.

The vocals on Tico-Tico are credited to Charlita.

Tico Tico
Come To The Mardi Gras
Mambo #5
Mambo #8
El Compas Del Mambo
Ay Mi Chatita
Virjencita De Mi Vida
Las Casadas
Mujer Celosa
Por Mi Lloraras

Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks

Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks
David Seville And The Chipmunks
Liberty LPR 3132
1959

This is the original Liberty release on red vinyl. Several years later the reissue would feature The Chipmunks in their more recognizable form (from the 1961-62 TV cartoon, The Alvin Show).

This jacket cover is red foil with over printing.

Around The World With The Chipmunks and David Seville
Liberty LRP 3170
1960

OK... I'm 55 years old and I still LOVE this record! Once again, we have a Liberty Chipmunks released just before the animated representations of the characters set their look in stone.

The music is fun because of all the "folk styles" required to create the songs the "boys" sing as they travel around the world. And of course... who can forget the catchy tune Japanese Banana? I know I can't.

Echoes Of Latin American - The Continental Trio

Peanut Vendor

Echoes Of Latin America
The Continental Trio
Plymouth P-12-138

Obscure album released on the one of the most budget labels I've ever come across, Plymouth. However Plymouth did feature graphically appealing album jackets. This LP was probably a mid-50s pressing. Surprisingly, Plymouth listed the group's name, but Lord knows who made up The Continental Trio.

There are no tracks on this album. I've seen this before on budget records, maybe it was Plymouth. The songs butt right up against one another as if the group played through a recording session without a break.

As you can tell from the sample, the music is very much like you were sitting in a lounge listening to some guys playing away as if they were waiting for their next break. Very uninspiring.

But the fun doesn't end there. Why on the cover does Plymouth bill a Latin album as being "Recorded In Europe"? Who knows. Plymouth didn't even have enough "Latin" music to fill an entire LP. They padded out the album with canned classical music on side two. I can't even imagine what a record buyer must have thought when they put this gem on their turn table.

Maderas que Cantan

La Marimba

Maderas que Cantan
Marimba de Zeferino
Hermanos Nandayapa
Arregios y Direccion de Rafael Carrion
Harmony Columbia HL 8149

Mexican pressing probably late 50s early 60s. I found this in a Northern Kentucky thrift today.

Hammond Organ Hits Of 1967

Song Of India

Hammond Organ Hits Of 1967
In The Ken Griffin Style
Ashley Tappin At Piccadilly Gardens In London
Somerset SF-28300

Obscure LP and artist. Nice cover of exotica favorite, Song Of India.

Hammond Gone Cha-Cha

I Got Plenty Of Nuttin'

Hammond Gone Cha-Cha

Jackie Davis At The Console

Plus Latin Rhythms In Danceable New Cha-Cha Stylings

Produced by Bill Miller

Hammond Organ on cover courtesy of Penny-Owsley Music, Co.
Capitol Records ST 1338
1959

From Billboard - March 21, 1960: Organist Davis serves up a listenable set of cha chas that should appeal to fanciers of the popular Latin, terp step. Included are "The Glow Worm," "A Woman In Love" and "Perfidy." Fine sound and an attractive cover will help lure sales.

Ain't She Sweet!

A Woman In Love

Rain On The Roof

Heat Wave

In A Little Spanish Town

Then I'll Be Happy

Lady, Play Your Mandolin

I Got Plenty Of Nuttin'

The Glow Worm

Perfidia

Love Is Just Around The Corner 

Manana

Cha Cha Cha - En Marte

Fallo Cabrera y su Congunto

Cha Cha Cha
En Marte
Peerless
Fabrica De Discos Peerless, S.A.
LPP 105

10 inch 33 RPM.

Obscure late 50s Cha Cha record from Peerless which sold record, for the most part in Latin America and some communities in the Southwest United State.

Muzak - New Dimensions

Those Were The Days

New Dimension
Volume 2
Muzak H-I (1) 35A

1969

Only that Muzak sound can bring up the memories of that trip to the local Woolworth's department store. Your mother made you hold packages of women's underwear while she tried on shoes. You sat there red faced as you watched the school bully shoplift the latest Beatles album. He sees you looking at him and makes a menacing motion that he is going to kill you.

Yes, those were the days!

The Look Of Love
Love Is Blue
What A Wonderful World
With Pen In Hand
Master Jack
Step To The Rear
Little Green Apples
Autumn Of My Life
What The World Needs Now
Mrs. Robinson
Do You Know The Way To San Jose
Those Were The Days

Organ Favorites - Beverly Laine

Organ Favorites
Beverly Laine & Eddie Truman
Tops L1512
1957

Nice pop organ album from TOPS. This was one of those albums that I would have thought would be fairly obscure. It is, except that all of the songs are available for download at the usual online resources. Again, why some albums are digitized and sold and others are not... I'll never know why.

What is obscure are the artists. I can't find any bio information online.

This is second example of "microgroove" technology from Tops that I've listened to in the past several days. Both pressings sound thin. I attributed the sound of the first record to a bad pressing, but I'm not sure now.

Cha-Cha-Cha And Mambo

Virgin Isle Mambo

Cha-Cha-Cha And Mambo
Tops L1535
1957

Budget release featuring Perez Prado, Tito Rodriguez, Miguelito Valdez, Nat Charles and Jose Gomez. However, tracks aren't attributed to the artists.

The pressing is not good. Hopefully the entire run wasn't manufactured like my copy.

Manufacturing issues aside, the "B" mambo side is peppy play through.

Tropical Rhythms For Dancing

Mambo Borracho

Tropical Rhythms For Dancing
Mucho Merenguy Mucho Ritmo
La Sondra Sensacion
Enrique Lynch Y Orquestra
Columbia Records EX 5064

I post this obscure LP today featuring a Peruvian Orchestra leader, Enrique Lynch. There are numerous hits online with returns for various recordings, but no hard bio information (at least in English).

This album is a mix of vocals and instrumentals, and while there is some english on the cover, this LP was produced by Industrial Sono Radio, S.A., Peru and apparently imported. The music is peppy, all-be-it fairly traditional, Latin big band.

This album was a radio station copy, WAEF-FM. WAEF (104.3) which is now WRPM (98.5), Cincinnati, Ohio.

Three Suns - Midnight For Two

When Yuba Plays The Rumba On The Tuba

Midnight For Two
The Three Suns With Pipe Organ
With Ray Bohr on the Pipe Organ
Produced by Al Nevins
Arranged by Side Ramin
Photo by Murray Laden
RCA Victor LPM-1333
1957

From the back cover: Al Nevins recruited Sid Ramin, arranger extraordinary, and planned this project step by step. Sid Ramin, well seasoned by years of conjuring the spectacular scores of the Milton Berle TV shows and many other choice assignments, delivered the Three Suns with a new sound. The taste, talent and style remained the same, however – the addition was a to be only one more person with a tremendous calling – the pipe organ. One of New York's largest theaters was then recruited to cage the nightly pipe organ with the Three Suns. Take a few standards, sprinkle with brightness, add a fresh face and another enchanting album is completed.

Ray Bohr has excellent on the pipe organ and presented a new friend with the Three Suns. Twelve arrangements, delightfully planned by Sid Ramin, are coupled on one disc to provide an experience after dark for the most discriminating. – Noel R. Kramer

The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise
When Yuba Plays The Rumba On The Tuba
Memory Lane
Blue Tango
I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance
Intermission Time
Stella By Starlight
Cumana
Midnight For Two
Ain't Misbehavin'
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
The Very Thought Of You

Mandolino Italiano

Guaglione

Mandolino Italiano
Dick Dia, His Mandolin & Orchestra
Audio Fidelity AFSD 5923
1960

There are a few great "space age" mandolin tracks on this LP. As usual, Audio Fidelity comes through with slightly off beat take on traditional music.

Not much to be found on Dia. From the back cover: "For many years he has had his own orchestra, and also served as musical director of New York Radio Station WOV for fifteen years. He also apparently played with Perry Como, Jackie Gleason, The Ames Brothers and Johnny Desmond.

Fiesta For Pipe Organ - Alfredo Mendez

Sway (sample)

Album

Fiesta For Pipe Organ
Alfredo Mendez
RCA Victor LPM-1444
1957

The last type of "Latin" album I expected to run across was one featuring the pipe organ. But here you have it! I'm a big fan of Korla Pandit, who played the organ in more of a "percussion style". Few artists, that I know of, played this way. I might have expected to hear "Latin" like this from him.  In fact, Pandit covered one tune on this album, Espana Cana.

There is slim mention of Mendez online. He played on a Three Suns album, The Things I Love In Hi-Fi. There is very little to go on. Jacket notes indicate that he was "friends" with Ernesto Lecuona, a noted Cuban composer who helped "develop Mendez' feelings for tropical music".

There is also one interesting note about the Mendez writing a concerto for the pipe organ and the sounds of space and motion. "Unique? Imagine if you will, a pipe organ accompanied by vacuum cleaners, blenders, air conditioners, and other appliances!"

Hmmm... I wonder if there was a recording made of that piece of music?!!

The sample, Sway, is a much recorded tune written by Pablo Beltran Ruiz and made famous by Dean Martin in 1954.

Info about downloads and my blog.

Ted Heath - Pop Hits From The Classics

Pop Hits From The Classics
Ted Heath
London LL3124

I can't find a release date for this album. You can find it online in CD and by-the-download.

You wouldn't get the original cover art with the digitized versions. The music is way easy listening.

Heath albums can sport fun art. In this case "cutting long hair". An image that seems odd today. But "long hair" was a way of saying "stuffy" especially when it came to classical music (long hair music). This would be a visual way of saying "I'm made the classics cool."

The Romantic Guitar Of Vicente Gomez

Andalucia

The Romantic Guitar Of Vicente Gomez

Orchestra Conducted By Charles Bud Dant
Decca Records DL 8439
1957

The December 5, 1964 issue Billboard gave this release a "Pop Special Merit". The catalog numbers are not the same (this album cover looks more like a mid-to-late 50s release to me). The 1964 reissue featured a different cover.

La Macarena
Habanera
La Cumparsita
Estrellita
Marieta
Andalucia
Malaguena
Frenesi
Green Moon = Verde Luna
La Golondrina
Baia
Por Que? = Why?

Beltran Plays Cha-Chas

Bali Ha'i

Beltran Plays Cha-Chas
Beltran and His Orchestra
Fred Astaire Dance Studio Favorites
Recorded in Mexico
New York A&R Representation: Ethel Gabriel
RCA Camden CAL 679
1961

I Only Have Eyes For You
Always
At Last
Sentimental Journey
Sway (Quien Sera)
Never On Sunday
South Of The Border
Bali Ha'i
I've Got You Under My Skin
By The Light Of The Silvery Moon

Hollywood Sound Stage

The Moon Of Manakoora

Spellbound

Hollywood Sound Stage
Percussion And Sound
Bob Rosengarden / Phil Krause And Orchestra
Decca DL 74184
1961

The October 23, 1961 Billboard gave this record a "Strong Sales Potential".

This is a cool percussion album. The cover isn't a strong design, but the music is outstanding.

Tracks begin with a brief scene setting sound effect which blends nicely into the main track. The sample track above is pure exotica surprise found on this enjoyable album.

The Now Sounds Of Today

I Wanna See You On The Dance Floor (Daniel Wilson)

Ha Hou Ho Ho (J. Roland Lafrance)

A Passing Thing (Jimi Dee)

The Now Sounds Of Today
Columbine Records CRH-285

Dino, Desi And Billy

I'm A Fool

Dino (Martin), Desi (Arnaz) And Billy (Hinsche)

Arrangements: Billy Strange, Jack Nitzsche & Lee Hazlewood

Reprise R-6176
1965

Personnel: Al Casey, Billy Strange, James Burton, Jim Gordon, Jim Troxel, Dr. Jim Simmons, Jimmy Grey & Donald L. Owens

I'm A Fool charted #17 Billboard and Not The Lovin' Kind (also on this album), #25. They opened for The Beach Boys in 1965. None of the boys were barely 15 years of age at the time. They also opened for Paul Revere & The Raiders, Tommy Roe, Sam The Sham, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Mamas And The Papas.

Not The Lovin' Kind
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Mr. Tambourine Man
I'm A Fool
Like A Rolling Stone
The Rebel Kind
Chimes Of Freedom
It Ain't Me Babe
Boo-Hoo-Hoo (I Can Tell)
So Many Ways
Seventh Son

Astounding High Fidelity!

Chase And Kill From "Safari"

Astounding High Fidelity!
In Stereo
Moments In Great Music
Somerset SF-6100
1958

There are a few songs on this album by The Nord Deutches Symphony, a few by 101 Strings, one The London Philharmonic and the sample above that is uncredited. The Chase And Kill track is very much different from the rest of the "classical" fare on the album.

The Windmills Of Your Mind - Billy Vaughn

Time Of The Season

Billy Vaughn
The Windmills Of Your Mind

Produced by Billy Vaughn and Dick Peirce

Cover Photography: Gene Brownell

Art Direction: Christopher Wharf

Engineer: Hank Cicalo
Dot Records ST-91985 & STEREO DLP 25937
1969

The Windmills Of Your Mind - Arranged by George Tipton

Traci's Tracks - Arranged by Billy Vaughn

Help Yourself - Arranged by Milt Rogers

Time Of The Season - Arranged by Billy Vaughn

Traces - Arranged by Billy Vaughn

Wichita Linemen - Arranged by Milt Rogers

Promises, Promises - Arranged by Milt Rogers

Soulful Strut - Arranged by Milt Rogers

The Way That I  Live - Arranged by George Tipton

Glad She's A Woman - Arranged by Billy Vaughn

Heaven - Arranged by Milt Rogers

You Gave Me A Mountain

Melodies In Gold

Melodies In Gold
Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra
Dot DLP 25064
1959

Interesting cover. I can't say this cheesecake model does much for me... Certainly the dress does nothing for her.

Anyway, the tracks are available for download at the usual online outlets so I won't be posting a sample.

The music is punctuated with some "The Shinning-esque" clarinet that stabs through vail of easy listening. It just reminds me of that ballroom scene in the movie The Shinning.  Like music from a haunted dance hall.

1966 Magnificent Movie Themes

Theme From The Chase

Thunderball

1966 Magnificent Movie Themes
Bobby Byrne And His Orchestra
Command Records RS 894 SD

Originated and produced by Loren Becker, Robert Byrne and Julie Klages.

Another fun Command album. You can hardly go wrong with the Command label. Even though this album was released after ABC got their hands on the label and the quality declined rapidly according to Enoch Light's wiki page. The engineering was always top notch and much of the music Command put out during this period, is groovy, silly or depending on your tastes cool light pop.  This a great record with a fab 60s musical groove.

The cover was art directed by Charles E. Murphy, a designer who basically created the Command brand with his graphically bold cover images.

Byrne is mentioned in a 1968 Billboard article as the A&R Director for Command, so I think he was probably on the Command payroll. Loren Becker is mentioned as Command's VP.

Midnight Rhapsody - Joe Bushkin

Laura

Midnight Rhapsody
Joe Bushkin, His Piano and Orchestra
Orchestrations by Glenn Osser
Capitol Records T 711
1956

From Billboard - March 31, 1956: Joe Bushkin makes the switch from combo to big band for the first time and the results are a warm and luxuriant sound. Bushkin undoubtedly had some of his greater moments working with the small group and there are those who will deplore his going as "commercial" as he does in this slicing. Nevertheless, this stuff is in keeping with current tasters in romantic background music and the selection of number highlighting the guy's sensitive touch adds up to excellent potential. "Laura," "I Cover The Waterfront," "Manhattan," and "I Can't Get Started" are a few of the winning line-up.

Manhattan
Laura
Stormy Weather
September Song
Embraceable You
Come Rain Or Come Shine
I Cover The Waterfront
I Can't Get Started
The Song Is You
As Time Goes By
It's The Talk Of The Town
Above All, You