Voodoo Moon
The Hollywood Pops Symphony
Conducted By Robert Lowden
Miller International
Sonic Workshop - Project No. 0100
1960
This is a curious album that was produced by D. L. Miller. Miller of Somerset Records, his budget label that produced some good product, including 101 Strings projects (there are some great 101s out there).
Miller seems to have distanced himself from the "budget" side of his business for this project. It might appear that he wanted to try his hand at producing a slick and trendy album. This package was obviously influenced by Enoch Light's Command label. The jacket is a book-fold construction and more, the red panel on the cover, featuring the word "MOTION", is die cut into the jacket. The insert is a piece of plastic that "blinks" when you turn the jacket one way and then the other. The color changes from red to yellow and the word motion repeats, but changes in size. This was an EXPENSIVE jacket to produce. Design credit goes to W. Dressler.
The engineering is very good on this record (recorded at United Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA). The quality is close to what I hear coming from Command or Mercury during this period.
The content of this album is as good as many of the fun, light pop records coming from Command at the time and Miller is right on top of the trend, borrowing ping pong and percussion stylings from Light. Voodoo Moon is probably one of the cooler tunes off the album. There is also a cool cover of Caravan on the album as well as a dramatic cover of Ski Run from the movie Spellbound.
Malaguena
Sabre Dance
Old Soft Shoe
Bats In The Belfry
Ghost Riders In The Sky
Voodoo Moon
Roller Coaster
Dizzy Fingers
Caravan
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Beguine For Bongos
Ski Run
1960
This is a curious album that was produced by D. L. Miller. Miller of Somerset Records, his budget label that produced some good product, including 101 Strings projects (there are some great 101s out there).
Miller seems to have distanced himself from the "budget" side of his business for this project. It might appear that he wanted to try his hand at producing a slick and trendy album. This package was obviously influenced by Enoch Light's Command label. The jacket is a book-fold construction and more, the red panel on the cover, featuring the word "MOTION", is die cut into the jacket. The insert is a piece of plastic that "blinks" when you turn the jacket one way and then the other. The color changes from red to yellow and the word motion repeats, but changes in size. This was an EXPENSIVE jacket to produce. Design credit goes to W. Dressler.
The engineering is very good on this record (recorded at United Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA). The quality is close to what I hear coming from Command or Mercury during this period.
The content of this album is as good as many of the fun, light pop records coming from Command at the time and Miller is right on top of the trend, borrowing ping pong and percussion stylings from Light. Voodoo Moon is probably one of the cooler tunes off the album. There is also a cool cover of Caravan on the album as well as a dramatic cover of Ski Run from the movie Spellbound.
Malaguena
Sabre Dance
Old Soft Shoe
Bats In The Belfry
Ghost Riders In The Sky
Voodoo Moon
Roller Coaster
Dizzy Fingers
Caravan
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Beguine For Bongos
Ski Run
I really love this!!
ReplyDeleteMy father had this record when I was a kid and I got into it. He wound up giving it to me and I wound up breaking it. I really missed hearing it over the years. In the late 1990s a friend took me to a huge used record store I had never been to. I told him about this album and he said maybe the store would have it. I said if they would have this obscure record from the early 60s it would be a miracle. At that point I even forgot the album's title, just remembering the unique cover. He started looking through the New Arrivals bin and after about five minutes he held up an album and asked if this was it. It was it! I started to scream loudly "That's it!" over and over with people looking at me like I was crazy. I just couldn't believe it! So I am now reunited with one of my favorite childhood memories and believe me I treat it ever so gently!
ReplyDeleteIn Germany it has been released by Sommerset, simpel cover, German back side.
ReplyDeleteBut ist says on the back: Die perfekte Stereo Demonstration ( The perfect Stereo demonstration. It has been one of these endless records everybody wanted these days to check his new stereo equipment. It never really works, but we sold a lot LPs like this. However, good wired music.
- But I'm still a Phil Sepctor fan - Back To Mono!