The Best Of Peter Gunn - Ray Ellis

Fallout

The Best Of Peter Gunn
Composed By Henry Mancini
Ray Ellis And His Orchestra
MGM Records E3813

1960

From March 14, 1960 Billboard: This driving new side from the Ray Ellis album, "The Best Of Peter Gunn," is a mighty listenable hunk of wax. It could get a lot of spins.

Peter Gunn
Walkin' Bass
A Profound Gass
Goofin' At The Coffee House
The Floater
Dreamsville
Fallout
The Brothers Go To Mothers
Joanna
Not From Dixie
Sorta' Blue
Soft Sounds

Themes Of Distinction From Great Motion Pictures - Bill Snyder

Laura

Themes Of Distinction From Great Motion Pictures
Bill Snyder His Piano And Orchestra
Decca DL 8629
1958

From the back cover: Bill, born in Chicago's Northwest side, was first inspired and taught in Moritz Rosenthal, a pupil of the renowned Franz Liszt and one of the greatest pianists of his time. Bill Snyder's first engagement with his orchestra was at the Mayfair Room of Chicago's Blackstone Hotel. He remained there a year and broke the long-run record as band leader and entertainer. Since then, with his "magic" piano – an air conditioned, custom built masterpiece in ebony, which took four years to build – Bill has made numerous highly successful recordings and has appeared in the finest supper clubs and night clubs throughout the country.

Invitation
That Night
Tammy
Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing
Fascination
Written On The Wind
Symphonie Moderne
Interlude
The Song From Moulin Rouge
Theme From Man Of A Thousand Faces
Laura
Alway All Boats

Folsom Prison Blues

Whang Dang Doo

Folsom Prison Blues
And Other Country Hits
Modern Sound
MS 599

Modern Sound produced numerous budget covers LP including "Goldfinger", "Mary Poppins" , an album with no name, and another album with no name.

Folsom Prison Blues
Born To Be With You
I Walk Alone
Next In Line
Don't Call Me Up
It's Been A Long Long Time
Whang Dang Doo (Spelled "Do" on the front cover)
Saturday's Sweetheart Monday's Fool
A Juke Box Queen
Night Train To Memphis

The Eternal Sea - Bill Justis

Off Shore

The Eternal Sea
Its Moods Its Love Songs
Bill Justis His Orchestra And Chorus
Monument SLP18078
1967

This is a curious "theme" album. Justis throws in "Mystic Moods" environmental touches and standard 60s pop choral back-up singers into a mood music set that features interesting arrangements.

The record almost plays as if it could be a soundtrack. For me, the blend is just unusual enough to engage my 60s mood music senses.

Ebb Tide
Sail To Bombay, Sail To Rio
The Magic Sea
Off Shore
Beyond The Sea
Enchanted Sea
My Ship
Sailor
Boy On A Dolphin
Red Sails In The Sunset
Sea Of Dreams
The Eternal Sea

Keyboard Cocktails - Chuy Reyes

Out Of Nowhere

Full Album

Keyboard Cocktails
Chuy Reyes
Capitol Records H305
1952

This one is a straight forward keyboard cocktails lounge. For a more "Latin" Reyes, check out: Rhumba De Cuba and Sambas.

If I Had You
Yesterdays
I Surrender Dear
Out Of Nowhere
Blue Moon
I've Got You Under My Skin
While A Cigarette Was Burning
That Old Black Magic

More Cocktail Capers - The Art Van Damme Quintet

I Want To Be Happy

More Cocktail Capers
The Art Van Damme Quintet
Capitol Records L300
1952

This is the somewhat obscure 10 inch Capitol follow up to Van Damme's 1948 Cocktails Capers. The catalog number follows L-299 Yma Sumac, Legend Of The Sun Virgin - 1951.

From the fab cover art to the swinging Van Damme jazz accordion, this short 8 track 10" gem rocks.

I Want To Be Happy
Pavanne
Rachel's Dream
Should I
Fine And Dandy
Perdido
Habanera
Linger A While

A Library Of New Instruments - July, 1967

B.B. - David McCallum

A Library Of New Instrumentals
The Capitol Disc Jockey Album
July, 1967

Here is another Captiol promotional album I picked up recently. Originally purchased by me because of the cheesecake covers, I soon became fond of the track selections because Capitol seems to have focused on period "mood music" rather than "rock" promotions (with the exception, on this collection, of a surprise and fab psych tune, Evergreen, Part 2 by The Stone Poneys found as the last tract on the B side).

Something / Misty - Pete Fountain

Selections From Jesus Christ Superstar

Something

Something / Misty
Pete Fountain
MCA Records MCA-176
1972

There is a listing for this album featuring the same cover on "Coral CRL 757516" in the January 23, 1971 issue of Billboard.

We've Only Just Begun
Sunny
Something
Close To You
Selections From Jesus Christ Superstar
Misty
What Have They Done To My Song Ma
Here, There And Everywhere
Green Green Grass Of Home
Blues In A Mist

Emmanuelle

Opium Den

Rape

Emmanuelle
Arista SL 4036
1975

Soundtrack from 70s soft porn film featuring a few interesting bands as sampled above.

Arriba - Tito Guerrera

Koldoba

Arriba
Tito Guererra And His Latin American Orchestra
Crown Records CLP 5164

This is a decent big band Latin LP. The recording seems to have been engineered with one microphone in a large room. Many of the instruments sound a "distant" and "echoey". I guess the sound could be a turn off to some, but the effect works for me, at least on the "dramatic" sounding sample posted above.

Caballo Negro
Silbando
Amapola
El Merengue
Cubano Cha Cha Cha
Koldoba
Port Au Prince
Mascarado
Gallegos
Trade De Amor

Smoke Dreams - Ronnie Deauville

So In Love

Smoke Dreams

Ronnie Deauville
Under The Musical Direction of Lloyd Shaffer
Cover Photography by Dusty Rhodes
Jacket Produced by Phil Howard Visual Advertising
Back Cover Notes by Bill Neavin
ERA Records EL 20002
1957

From the back cover: Ronnie recently returned to this country after an extended tour of Europe, his happiness to be home once again and his desire to reach his many admirers through recording is evident by the warmth and humility he so vividly projects.

The Man Behind The Baton

The brilliant Conductor-Arranger, Lloyd Shaffer, the writer of the title song, was chosen to arrange the songs and to direct this album because of his unique ability to create the proper musical impression to best present whatever artist he may work with. Though long a conductor of large orchestras, Lloyd used only a quintet for this album in order to set the proper mood. The musicians are all men of feature standing selected because of their exceptional talent. Of the thirteen songs Shaffer selected twelve are standards compositions, chosen because of their proven universal appeal. Musically and lyrically they rank with the best romantic ballads of our era.


From imdb.com: However, a long singing career was not to be as in September of 1956, Ronnie was in an automobile accident, and was stricken with Polio a month later leaving him paralyzed from the neck down. This was just a few months before the Salk vaccine came on the scene. Ronnie spent over a year in an iron lung. His chances of ever singing again were thought to be nil, since he had virtually no breath control. After months of arduous practicing, Ronnie made a comeback on a local Los Angeles TV show. He went on to fulfill other bookings before he stopped due to his health. Ronnie ended up in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

Ronnie's career was stifled but not totally destroyed. Ralph Edwards soon did Ronnie's story on his "This Is Your Life" TV show, which stirred enough interest in him so that he was able to find work in motion picture dubbing for 20th Century-Fox, Warner Brothers, and Allied Artists. He died of cancer on Christmas Eve of 1990.

Smoke Dreams
I'll Close My Eyes
So In Love
I Kiss You Hand, Madame
Love Is Here To Stay
Wonderful One
Say It Isn't So
Something To Remember You By
As Children Do
I Concentrate On You
It's Easy To Remember
I Had The Craziest Dream
Soft Lights And Sweet Music

The Sound Of New York - Kenyon Hopkins

The Sounds Of New York
A Music-Sound Portrait
Written By Kenyon Hopkins
Produced By Creed Taylor
The Aristocrat Series
ABC 2269

Available from online vendors so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the cover art.

This was an expensive album to produce. The book-fold cover features a one page insert for the Hopkins and Taylor copy they thought necessary to include.

This project has Creed Taylor's stamp all over it. If you are familiar and enjoy Taylor's wild Shock and Panic, Son Of Shock projects you'll dig this record. The same interesting blend of "found sounds" and sort of "off kilter" big band mood music will be heard here.

The Sound Of New York
Manhattan
Taxi Ride
Take On The "A" Train
Waterfront
Penthouse Serenade
East Side, West Side
Construction
Chinatown, My Chinatown
Coney Island
Lullaby Of Broadway
The Sound Of New York