Music To Paint By

Music To Paint By
RCA Victor PRM-208
1966

Here's an interesting oddball project. The record was "Prepared expressly for Celanese Coatings Company by RCA Victor. Celanese brand paints included Devoe, PeeGee and Treasure Tone.

All the tracks on the LP have something to do with "color".

No expense was spared to include excellent music on this LP, including, my favorite tracks, Green Eyes by Tony Martin and a killer version of Over The Rainbow by Peter Nero.

I resist posting a sample, because I'm sure these two tunes are still available and under copy protection.

For The Love Of Benji

Doberman Chase

For The Love Of Benji
Mulberry Square Productions
KSE 34867
1977

Everybody remembers Lassie... Rin Tin Tin, Bandit, the cartoon dog from Jonny Quest! Even BEN and Ben wasn't a dog but a rat! Who remembers Benji?

Who remembers Charlie Rich?

Charlie Rich Sunshine Smiles
Olympic Jet
Airport Chase
Benji Lost
Benji At The Fountain
Big Dog Bone
Big Dog Sausage

Benji At The Market
Charlie Rich Benji's Theme: "I Feel Love" 

Benji Unhappy
Hotel Reject
Doberman Chase
Hotel Run
Car Chase 2:45Box Hotel Caravel
Slo Mo Cindy
Charlie Rich Benji's Theme: "I Feel Love"

The Magic Of Movement

 

The Magic Of Movement
Activities Designed With The Senior Citizen In Mind
Melody House Records MH-768

A surprise treasure!

The narration is done by Dr. Betty Sue Benison.

Exercise #5: Eye Exercises. Whatever you do... don't STRAIN yourself!

Enoch Light and the Brass Menagerie

Aquarius

Enoch Light and the Brass Menagerie
Volume 2
Arrangements by Dick Hyman
Project Total Sound Stereo PR 5042 SD1969

Enoch Light had a way making projects sound unique and fun to listen to including brass albums. This is a cool LP with enough campy 60/70s flourishes to keep you engaged.

Romantic Piano

Romantic Piano
After Dark Piano Favorites
Recording Director: D. L. Miller
Cover Photo: Pickow
Somerset SF-27900
An Alshire Production
1967

Peitor Dero actually gets a mention on the back cover as the artist.

Rhapsody In Blue
Claire De Lune
Meditation From Thais
Lonestar Concerto
Sunset Boulevard Concerto
Starlight Rhapsody
Rhapsody To Rittenhouse Square

The Going Thing 1970

Hey Jude

The Going Thing 1970
Ford Promotional LP

See my post for the introduction of The Going Thing as featured in a 1969 recording that was apparently only distributed internally.

This album is the follow-up LP and may have been distributed to the public (a hand out at dealerships, or at car shows or sold somehow?). The back cover is completely blank with the exception of The Ford Logo.

In my earlier post I suggested that Ford was out of touch with the youth market of the day. And this project proves it. It's a disaster! This record is full of amazingly bad covers of songs that young people might... well... have actually enjoyed. Then again... some of the song choices are pretty awful.

The Going Thing 1969

The Going Thing 1969
Produced By Ford Division

Here's a rare album. Printed on the LP label is: "CONFIDENTIAL FOR FORD PERSONNEL ONLY".

Apparently Ford management felt like connecting to the youth market with an exciting, fresh and contemporary idea... a brand new singing group, THE GOING THING. A search began for a group of young people who would symbolize "The Going Thing" concept.

Is this is how Ford management viewed the 1969 youth market? Apparently the idea worked for Ford because the kids were back in 1970 with another LP.

The jacket notes go on and on about who is in the group, where they came from and talk about their musical credits. One of the kids: Steven Flanagan was born and raised in the slums of Watts, California. A mixture of Irish, Indian and Negro, he was immediately accepted for the glee club in high school. The jacket notes also goes as far to state: THE GOING THING GROUP promises to be a welcome addition to the field of today's contemporary music.

The Magic Islands

The Magic Island (Parts 1 & 2)

The Magic Islands
Alfred Newman and his Orchestra with the Ken Darby Singers
DL 9048 (two cover variations)
1957

From the inside (gatefold) cover: Alfred Newman stands firmly among today's masters of music, a man lavishly gifted as an artist, composer and conductor. His prodigious output of motion picture scores has brought him seven Academy Awards and the deep respect of his contemporaries throughout the world. He music for "The Robe" – (Decca DL 9012) has already taken its place in the forefront of  Hollywood's great film scores and his "Serenade To The Stars"( Decca DL 8123) contains some of the most beautiful movie themes ever recorded.

Ken Darby, for the past nine years the vocal supervisor for 20th Century Fox, will be remembered for his setting of Moore's "Twas The Night Before Christmas" – (Decca ED 548). Many of Bing Crosby's greatest records were made under his choral supervision, including "Ghost Riders In The Sky," "Now Is The Hour" and the classic "White Christmas."

The talent of Alfred Newman and Ken Darby were recently associated in the musical production of the highly lauded Rodgers and Hammerstein films "Carousel" and "the King And I."

From Billboard - May 13, 1957: The de luxe packaging job is the outstanding feature here. Several beautiful color pages of island scenes, a glossary of everyday Hawaiian words and their pronunciations, and a list of common English terms with the Hawaiian equivalents are included in addition to the disk. The color, customs and romance of the scenic isles are enjoyably presented in the sequence of songs. Hi-fi bugs will go for the range and depth of sound. The special features make this a very attractive buy.

Hana Maui
Hawaiian War Chant (Ta Hu Wa Hu Wai)
Lovely Hula Hands
Hawaiian Wedding Song (Ke Kali Nei Au)
Legend Of The Rain
The Magic Islands
Trade Winds
Sweet Leilani
Love Song Of Kalua
Aloha To The Magic Islands: Medley
Song Of The Islands
King's Serenade
Aloha Oe (Farewell To Thee)

The Exotic Sounds of Arthur Lyman - Taboo Vol. 2

Jungle Fantasy

The Exotic Sounds Of Arthur Lyman
Taboo Vol. 2
HIFIRECORD Album R822
1959

From the back cover: Here again Arthur Lyman does what nobody else can do. Rockets and Missles couldn't do it. Even Luniks and Sputniks have already been outspeeded by Arthur Lyman!

How come?

Well, lovers, our furthest-traveling missile is only good for 7,500 miles... and it take hours to get there...

Taboo Tu is a joint effort of Arthur Lyman and Allen Soars. Taboo Tu is proof that emergencies sometimes produce phenomenal results. While cutting this album, Arthur suddenly discovered he was one song short! He had just two hours in which to come up with an acceptable tune! Arthur and Allen proceeded to prove that two heads are better than one. (Aren't you sorry, you one-headed people?) Anyway, Taboo Tu was written, arranged, rehearsed and recorded in just two hours!

The Luniks and Sputniks took days to accomplish their mission. But for those of you who like to travel to the faraway, mystery-scented, exciting corners of the world (and would doesn't?), ATA Lyman makes this possible by placing you there within easy reach of your record-player. This album is Arthur Lyman's new, "Play as you GO" plan. Yes, enclosed in this jacket is a new World's Record... ant it's Arthur Lyman's latest effort in breaking the "speed of exotic-sound" barriers

Taboo Tu
Ebb Tide
Babalik Ka Rin
Sakura
Moon Of Manakoora
Jungle Fantasy
Love Dance
Return To Paradise
Hi Lili Hi Lo
Mangwani Mpulete
Beautiful Kahana
Koni Au I Ka Wai

The Great Imposters

The Great Imposters
You Asked For It
Live
A Triple Crown Production GI 2027
Recorded Live at The West Omaha Holiday Inn

I have two questions. One. When a cover is worth more then the music? Two. Where can I find one of those suits?

This is not 70s disco. This is SHA NA NA 50s covers.

Where is my horrible lounge disco music?

Oh well... the cover is great fun!

At Home WIth Bob Ward

Star Dust

At Home With Bob Ward At The Hammond Organ
Encores - Music To Live By
Continental Records Of California

As far as I can tell, this artist and record company is lost to history.

I bought this album for the great cover art and the disc itself which is pressed on a great translucent yellow plastic.

The album notes indicate that the photo was actually taken in Bob's home in Monterey Park, CA. The notes go on to list, by full name, all the folks in the photograph... including the people in the mirror reflection! This photo is a simple snap shot of Bob, the ladies man, in his living room. Pass around the Highballs folks! Let's get this party started.

KAPU (Forbidden)

KAPU (Forbidden)
Exciting Sounds Of Milt Raskin
Crown Records CLP 5110 1959

From Billboard Magazine, June 15th, 1959: Program music describing various Hawaiian legends inked by Johnny Mercer's partner. Raskin himself is heard on cocktail-style piano, celeste and bongo box. Four other percussionists take turn at 16 kinds of percussion instruments. For good measure, there are also bass, organ harp, flute and more. The exotic effects are employed, disk should be sold more for quiet listening and dancing than for sound.

I'm not sure what the reviewer meant by "sound".

This album is a great exotica and one of my favorites.

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's SUPERMAN

It's Superman

It's A Bird! It's A Plane! It's SUPERMAN
Selections From The New Musical Smash
By The Superman
Premier Albums Inc., NY, NY M-175

1966

This is a great album filled with fun and cheesy 60s pop ear candy. There is only one track with a vocal treatment: It's Superman

Wikipedia: The 1966 Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman!, starring Bob Holiday, was scored by Charles Strouse and Lee Adams. The script was written by David Newman and Robert Benton, who would go on to write the second draft of the screenplay for the first Superman film (1978).