Beyond The Reef
Joe Maize And His Cordsmen
Decca DL 8817
1959
This is the second album I've found by Maize, an obscure artist that features fine steel guitar on his set the features exotica/space age touches. This record has that Three Suns sound. Isle Of Dreams (Decca 1965), the other Maize record I have is also a great exotica recording.
From the back cover: Joe Maize and the boys have appeared at many of the leading hotels and nightclubs in America and the Hawaiian Islands (The Mocombo in Hollywood, The Desert Inn in Las Vegas, The Latin Quarter in New York, among many others). They have appeared on their own show and many local TV shows emanating from Salt Lake City, and they have done guest spots on shows such as Patti Page's.
The only real info on Maize comes from spaceagepop.com:
Will Louviere described Joe Maize and his Cordsmen as a "cross between the Three Suns and the Three Stooges," and that about sums it up. Maize was a versatile console steel guitar player, ala Alvino Rey, and like Rey, he unashamedly used his instrument for melody, percussion, and sound effects. The group performed in night clubs ranging from the Boulevard in New York City to the Mocambo in Hollywood, with an occasional gig at one of the hotels on Waikiki, but most of the time they were based in Las Vegas and Reno. The spirit of their act was not unlike that of the better-known Mary Kaye Trio, which played some of the same venues, such as the Painted Room of the Desert Inn: moving back and forth between instrumentals, vocals, and comic skits and often combining all three.
Presenting Joe Maize and his Cordsmen is a classic Space Age Pop album, complete with the obligatory standards such as "Misirlou"and "The Third Man Theme", lots of string wizardry by Joe, and nice jazzy accordion work, always a favorite of mine.
Awesome! LOVE it!Great cover, too!
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