The Savage And The Sensuous Bongos - Don Ralke

The Savage And The Sensuous Bongos
Don Ralke
Warner Bros. W1398
1960

Head Hunter
Saoco
Ju-Ju Man
The Mystery Of Yambuya
Voodoo Priestess
Face Beside The Fire
Poison Dart
Black Panther
Zulu Magic
Moon Goddess
Ritual Of The Cobra
Sacrifice Of The Maidens
Safradesia
Mombasa

At The London Palladium - Ted Heath

Fourth Dimension

Ted Heath At The London Palladium

Volume 1

Recorded at Ted Heath's 89th London Palladium Sunday Concert - April 12th, 1953
London LL 802

The Champ
Eloquence
Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me
Pick Yourself Up
Blues For Moderns
Fourth Dimension
Etrospect
Dark Eyes
Solitude
The Hawk Talks
I Got It Bad
Rhapsody For Drums

My Musical Coloring Book - Enoch Light And His Orchestra

Golden Earrings

My Musical Coloring Book
Enoch Light And His Orchestra
Originated and Produced by Enoch Light
Stereo 35/MM Sound Studio Production
Designed and Art Direction by Charles E. Murphy
Command/Grand Award Record Company RS848SD
1963

From Billboard - March 23, 1960 (apparently the initial release date): A fine instrumental collection by the Enoch Light band with sparkling orchestrations an outstanding aspect. The selections all have some aspect of color in their titles, as with "Yellow Bird," "Ruby," "Green Eyes," " Blue Room," "Deep Purple." etc. The placement of the instrumental choirs emphasizes the stereo effect of course, in a highly commercial manner.

Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White
My Coloring Book
Yellow Bird
Golden Earrings
Over The Rainbow
The Blue Room
That Old Black Magic
Ruby
Green Eyes
Mood Indigo
Red Sails In The Sunset
Deep Purple

Mrs. Mills Knees-Up Party

Mrs. Mills
Knees-Up Party
mfp Music For Pleasure 50230
1975

Mrs. Mills AKA Gladys Mills was a successful British artist whose repertoire included many "sing-along" or "party" records including this LP.

How can you resist the cover? I assume the folks surrounding her were a part of her club act. I want a suit like that!

Read more on Mills wiki page.

Wichita Lineman - Garn Littledyke Sings

Wichita Lineman
Garn Littledyke Sings
Crown Records CST 579

I rarely buy what appears to be a country record unless the the cover has a real vintage look to it. Or... if there is a photo of a hooker on the cover. If you notice... there is a boot in the frame just above her head. I assume that is the Lineman working... while the working girl works.

But the real surprise is the music. Yes, it's a bit country but it can also be a bit folk/psych. The vocalist sounds just a touch like Johnny Cash. The group, for most of the album, is a small three or four piece affair recorded in a simple "lo-fi" way. There is some great guitar work on the LP. The vibe is very cool.

As with most, if not all Crown Records... no matter how obscure... this one is available for purchase/download (what's up with that anyway?). Sorry, I will not be posting a sample! But there doesn't seem to be any examples of the cover art online. So at least I can offer you the visual experience!

The Sweet Sounds Of Tijuana - Hits Of Today By The Border Brass

Aquarius

The Sweet Sounds Of Tijuana
Hits Of Today By The Border Brass
Stereo Gold Award GA-16

Gold Award was a D. L. Miller (Somerset) budget label. You get what you pay for. But you never know... maybe you will find one track that will save you from the rest of the tracks. Aquarius has that budget 60s groove going on and I present it to you for your enjoyment.

Hammond Organ Hits Of 1967 - Ashley Tappin

Music To Watch Girls By

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

When is a Ken Griffin album not a Ken Griffin album? When Ashley Tappin uses Griffin's name to sell records.

The sample above is as groovy as it gets folks.

The Fourth Dimension In Sound

The Fourth Dimension In Sound
A Musical Experiment In The Adaptation Of Instruments To Modern Electronics
Stereo Workshop Series
Exploring Uncharted Patterns Of Sound
Shorty Rogers
Warner Bros. Records 1443
1962

With such a collection of titles displayed on the cover and the "hi-tech" graphic design, printed on gold foil I half expected that I was purchasing some early commercial electronica project.

No whiz-bang electronica here, but a jazz album and a fine one. The album is available by purchase/download. The experiment, if you glance at the double truck, was the recording process.

Although far from coming from another dimension, the music does have a nice space age edge to it. And the engineering is excellent.

Session members include Shelly Manne, Buddy Collette, Bud Shank, Paul Horn, Bill Hood, Pete Jolly, Red Mitchell, Emil Richards, George Roberts, Ken Shroyer and Joe Mondragon.

Warm And Mellow - Al Caiola

Watermelon Man

Al Caiola
Warm And Mellow
Unart S 21003
1967

The album is a compilation of tracks from other Caiola albums. The mix or blend is one of easy listening, jazz, Latin and 60s groove.

Art Van Damme Swings Sweetly

Skylark

Art Van Damme Swings Sweetly

Orchestra Arranged and Conducted by Marty Manning

Produced by Ernie Altschuler

Cover Photo: Charles Varon
Columbia CL-1794 & CS 8594
1962

But Not For Me

Skylark

The Nearness Of You

Moonlight Becomes You

Misty

Remind Me

Angel Eyes

Darrylyn

All These Things You Are

There Will Never Be Another You

What's New?

After You've Gone

South Of The Border - Stanley Black And His Orchestra

Rumba Rhapsody

South Of The Border

Stanley Black And His Orchestra
Richmond High Fidelity/London Records B200003
1959

Few fireworks, but nice budget record featuring covers of a number of popular "exotica" tunes. Black was a prolific artist recording a ton of records and scoring over 200 films. Check out Black's wiki page.

Latin Carnival - Al Stephano And His Trio

El Cumbanchero

Latin Carnival
Al Stephano And His Trio
Golden Tone 14058
1960

Budget small combo Latin with a few peppy tracks to help hold your interested.

Los Inigualables - Miguelito Valdes and Tito Guizar

Babalu

Los Inigualables (The Unrivaled)
Miguelito Valdes and Tito Guizar
Caliento Disco (Division of Pathe Records) CD 1000

There are Spanish/English note on the back cover of this import(?).

Miguelito Valdes is one of the greatest singers of Afro Cuban music. He is making his debut with Caliente Records in this LONG PLAYING ALBUM. This great singer began his career several years ago as a vocalist with the well known orchestra CASINO DE LA PLAYA. He appeared in a festival given by the famous orchestra leader Xavier Cugat in Hollywood a few years ago. Miguelito Valdes was also accompanied by the Noro Morales Orchestra and one of the greatest Cuban groups, the famous Sonora Matancera.

Tito Guizar, the lovable troubador of Mexico, brings you the best of his reperatory in the Long Playing Album, by Caliente Records. This great Mexican Singer has made many appearances in most of the important night clubs of Latin America and the United States, and many Spanish and American motion pictures.

The music is a curious mix of styles. Guizar's side is more "folk" and almost sounds like the tracks were lifted from a sound track. So I've picked Babalu, a Valdes track for the sample.

The Untouchable Sound Of The Bill Black Combo

The Untouchable Sound Of The Bill Black Combo
Hi Records SHL 32009

Early 60s (1962?) no frills rock combo. The Bill Black Combo, opened for The Beatles (at their request) in 1964 on their historical 13-city tour of America. Black was able to do the Ed Sullivan Show, but could mot make the tour do to ill health. He died on October 21, 1965 during a third operation to remove a brain tumor.

Black's widow sold the rights to use the Bill Black Combo name and the band changed to country when they joined Columbia Records.

Read more about Black on his Wiki page. The album is available on CD as a combo package with Bill Black's Record Hop. But the asking price is pretty stiff. You may be able to find some tunes on other CD packages.

More Solid And Raunchy
Bill Black's Combo
Hi Records SHL 32023
1965

This record has the same vibe as the 1964 Untouchable release above even though it was released the year Black passed away. I can't tell you when it was recorded or how much Black had to do with it.

Both records are very much fun in a "budget" early rock/space age/stripper club hybrid sort of way. The sound is curious and unique to my ears. The first track on the B side titled Come On Home has backing vocals that sound almost like Black hired The Chipmunks to help out. It's not that bad... but it makes you take notice. It's just one of the many quirks that sets these albums apart from the pack.

This one is also available on CD.

Let's Dance Latin - Baile Latino - Sylvio Mazzuca And His Orchestra

Choro Sim

Let's Dance Latin
Baile Latino
Sylvio Mazzuca And His Orchestra
Columbia ES 1784
1964

Obscure Columbia release. The only reference I can find for Mazzuca and this record is an ad that Columbia ran in Billboard promoting their "Latin" line in January, 1964.

This is a nice big band space age Latin record featuring excellent engineering.

There is a credit on the back cover for the cover photo which was shot in the "Columbia Photo Studio" by Henry Parker. Apparently Columbia was doing some design work in-house at the time.

Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight - Ray Kinney And His Hawaiians

Pagan Love Song

Sweet Hawaiian Moonlight
Ray Kinney And His Hawaiians
Vocalion VL 3687

Sweet and slow moving Hawaiian music from a vocalist who appeared on the first broadcast of Webley Edward's Hawaii Calls radio show in 1935. His career stretched over nearly forty years making over 598 record sides.