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Friday, October 24, 2014

Tanzhits '72

Shaft
Tanzhits '72
Hugo Strasser und sein Tanzorchester
EMI Columbia Tanz Illustrierte
C062-29 442

Shaft
Fireball
Spanish Harlem
We Are Going Down Jordan
Mamy Blue
Soley Soley
Borriquito
Let It Rock
This Is The Way To Amarillo
Jeepster
Holiday Stomp
Shalako

Monday, October 20, 2014

Bossa Now! - Joe Harnell

Serenata
Bossa Now!
Joe Harnell
Produced By Mike Berniker
Arranged And Conducted By Joe Harnell
A Total Sound Experience
Columbia CS 9499
1967

Bossa Wow! A terrific space age Latin project that grabs you from the first track and won't let go. Lush, groovy, driving sound featuring Harnell's sparkling arrangements and keyboard work.

From the back cover: Bossa Now! is just that! The exciting difference is the "bossa" sound of today. Take, for instance, the unusual instruments Joe has brought together for this album and the way he uses them. There's the sitar, the indian stringed instrument. Until now, the sitar has been limited to background accompaniment in "rock" sessions. Recognizing the instrument's potential, Joe has brought the sitar front and center, giving it a beautiful melodic line and making it an integral part of the orchestra. You'll hear the haunting sound of the sitar featured in Serenata.

The bellzukie is another sound maker that has the freshness and vitality of today. With a musical range from the whine of a Honda to the mellowness of a cello, the amplified bellzukie come into its own in Blame It On The Bossa Nova. Credit for the Blame goes to Joe and his free-wheeling arrangement that pits the bellzukie against a brace of individually tuned bongos. Add to this the magnificent string section that has become a Harnell trademark and the exciting woodwind virtuosity of Phil Bodner and you have a great example of Harnell's gift for arranging and orchestrating an old standard into something new and exciting.

Just to make sure that Bossa Nova remember its heritage, several Brazilian instruments play a key part in the session. The cabaso is a beaded shaker that gives the group a subtle, insinuating snap. And there's the cuica, the metal drum that opens Un Poco Rio.


Un Poco Rio
Guantanamera
So Soon
Serenata
So Nice
Music To Watch Girls By
Desafinado
A Man And A Woman
Blame It On The Bossa Nova
Bermuda Concerto
Spanish Flea

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Today Is Tomorrow! - The Four Freshmen

Lady Madonna
Today Is Tomorrow!
The Four Freshmen
Liberty LST-7563
1968

Producer: Jack Tracy
Arranger: Dick Reynolds
Engineer: Lanky Linstrot
Art Direction: Woody Woodward
Fashion Designs And Cover Models courtesy Of Rudi Gerneich
Cover Photography: Ivan Nagy

From the back cover: Trends come and go, and we have seen a bunch of them. Usually trends don't especially affect us – Elvis, Folk or Calypso – it doesn't matter. We do what we do. Recently though, this spinning, unpredictable music business is pointing our direction – have you noticed? Group singing is more stylish than ever before. Nothing could be more "mod" than to sing four notes in chords. We're not kicking though – we like being stylish. If we were the only ones heading in this direction, we might get to thinking we're on the wrong track. These new groups are helping keep the music business tuned to The Four Freshmen sound – helping keep us "in style."

From Billboard - June 15, 1968: The pleasant close harmonies of the Freshmen have been entertaining audiences since the early days of Presley, and with contemporary material, the soft sounds still works...

Day Dream
Cherish
My Girl
Girls
Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Walk On By
You've Got To Be Loved
Lady Madonna
Soul Coaxing
Come Fly With Me
When School Is Out This Year
Here's To You

20th All-Senior Honor Band

Black Magic Woman
20th All-Senior Honor Band
East Texas State University
November 23, 1974