Ciao Ragazzi! - Dom Cortese

Ciao Ragazzi!
Great Italian Hits
Dom Cortese & Co.
Monitor MFS 706

Surprisingly good, although at times uneven, space age pop accordion set, helped along by the following pro studio group.

Dom Cortese - Accordion
Al Caiola - Electric Guitar
Phil Bodner - Winds
Robert Haggart - Bass Guitar
Allen Hanlon - Guitar/Mandolin
William Lavorgna - Percussion

The set is available online as "Summertime In Venice" featuring different cover art (so I will not be posting a sample).

'Na Voce 'Na Chitarra
Munesterio 'E Santa Chiara
Scalinatello (Stairway To The Sea)
Mariarosa Alla Festa Va!
Anema E Core
Come Prime
Ciao Ragazzi, Ciao (Goodbye, Boys, Goodbye)
A Man Without Love (Quando M'Innamoro)
Vagabond Lover (O Sarracino)
Souvenir D'Italie
Only With You (lo Sono Te)
Summertime in Venice Tempo D' Estate (a Venezia)

The Now Sound Of Sandi & Salli

I Can't Stop Running Away

Lawrence Welk Presents
The Now Sound Of Sandi & Salli
Arranged by Frank Scott & Bob Smale
Ranwood Records
R8069

Everybody's Talkin'
Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head
Put A Little Love In Your Heart
Early In The Morning
For Once In My Life
I'll Never Fall In Love Again
Help Yourself
Try A Little Kindness
We'll Make It To The Moon
I Can't Stop Running Away

An Evening With The Flames - George Abdo

An Evening With The Flames
George Abdo and his Flames Of Araby Orchestra
Music Of The Near East
Cover models: Dancer Kazandra, Vina and Tom Haddad
Produced by Rik Tinory
Recorded at RFT Music Productions
The Flames Of Araby Record Company
A3124
1968

The set is available online as part of the Monitor catalog (so I will not be posting a sample) featuring an image from the Monitor vinyl release (MFS 721).

This release seems to be a more obscure release/cover (self-produced?).

The set is a good one, in the sense that the engineering is excellent compared to many of these more traditional "near east" recordings.

El Badree (Dance and Rejoice)
Ilhak Halak (Beware of Love)
Ya Wail (Don't Play With Fire)
Dance: Flames of Araby
Ya Karim Allaly (Under the Grapevine)
Al Asforieh (You're Driving Me Crazy)
Shuty Ya Dini (Rains of Spring)
Do Oul Mazahir (A Taste of Wine)
Arabic Fantasy (Dance)
Ya Gameel (Arabic Love Ballad)

We Love To Cha Cha Cha - La Playa Sextet

Cha Cha On Parade (Castellanos)

All The World Is Going Cha Cha (Rossi)

We Love To Cha Cha Cha
La Playa Sextet
Al Castellanos
Sonny Rossi
Mardi Gras Records, Inc. - N.Y.C.
LP-5008

Peppy period Cha Cha split set (Castellanos/Rossi) featuring this smoking hot cover art and one solo vocal track that sounds like filler if you compare the sound to rest of the set (sample above). The vocalist might be "Sonny Rossi"(?).

International Cha Cha Cha
Como Como Cha Cha
Say Say Merengue
Pla Pla Pla Cha Cha
Cha Cha On Parade
Italian Boy Cha Cha Cha
Coa Coa Cha Cha
Heart And Soul Cha Cha Cha
Shoemaker's Cha Cha
All The World Is Going Cha Cha

Love, Lies, And Flying Festoons - The Serendipity Singers

The Beanstalk

Muddy Old River

The Lion

Serendipity Singers
Sing Of: Love, Lies, and Flying Festoons
And other songs by Shel Silverstein
Philips PHS 600-190
1965

From Billboard, September 11, 1965: The Serendipity Singers must share credit with writer Shel Silverstein for this one. Silverstein's written all 16 songs on this album – ranging from ballads to sprightly nonsense songs. The classification comes somewhere between folk and nursery rhymes.

Little Sally Saucer
When Peaches Grown On Lilac Trees
The Monkey And The Elephant
Modern Talk
Everytime
The Clam
The Beanstalk
The Slitheree-Dee
Some Days
Muddy Old River
Willowy, Billowy Land
Plastic
If You Come Back In Summer
The Flying Festoon
Boa Constrictor
The Lion

Hawaiian Mood - Billy Mure

In A Persian Market / Mure

Swinging Palm Trees / Leilani

Hawaiian Moods
Billy Mure And His Orchestra
Luke Leilani And His Hawaiians
Spinorama S-157

Budget split LP between Mure and Leilani. Mure's side is a very good space age/exotica flavored set. Leilani's side features a pleasant, although more "traditional", set along with the rocking swing tune added as the last track (sample above).

Mure:
Hawaiian War Chant
Hawaiian Parade
In A Persian Market
Spain
By The Waters Of The Minnetonka

Leilani:
Sunset
Lovely Guitars
South Sea Island
Serenade
Swinging Palm Trees

Lana!

The Fool On The Hill

Lana!
Arranged and Conducted by Chuck Sagle
Produced by Danny Davis
RCA LSP-4026
1968

The Sound Of Silence
How Can I Be Sure
Baby, Now That I've Found You
Honey
The Fool On The Hill
Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Gentle On My Mind
For Me
Workin' On A Groovy Thing
Mine
The Music Played

Symphony Of The Birds - Johan Dalgas Frisch

Loch Lomond

Symphony Of The Birds
Recorded by Johan Dalgas Frisch
MGM Records E/SE-4442

From the back cover: These birds have a special interest: they are among the world's most exotic. Their home is the lush jungle-land of Brazil. Much of their music was recorded for the first time by Johan Dalgas Frisch, the Brazilian engineer and ornithologist who is probably the most prolific natural sound disk maker in the world. Some of the most beautiful of bird calls have been collected by Mr. Frisch for this album, and deftly combined with specially made arrangements. – liner notes by Faith Crumpacker.

The producers got lucky when they mixed the sample above, however the rest of the set features an annoying blend of bland stock music and environmental recordings.

Emperor Waltz
Sukiyaki
Medley
Santa Lucia
Medley
Tico Tico
Waves Of The Danube
The Song From Moulin Rouge
Luar do Sertao
Loch Lomond
Vira do Minho

Bossa Nova Goes To The Movies - Harry Betts

Love Song From Mutiny On The Bounty

A Lot Of Livin' To Do

Bossa Nova Goes To The Movies
Harry Betts with The Bill Brown Singers
Produced by Jackie Mills and Tommy Wolf
AVA Records A14
Choreo Records - Distributed by MGM Records
1962 - United Recording Studios

This release came with a printed "dance step" instructional insert titled "Bossa Con Betts - Bossa Nova Dance - By Rocky Mari & John Monte"

Although a line of type identifying Choreo Records as the record company and MGM Records as the distributor appears on the jacket, some other identifying information is covered over in 5 places with AVA stickers including the disc labels.

Nice smooth Bossa Nova featuring jazz composer and trombonist Harry Betts.

You'll Never Get Away From Me
Our Language Of Love
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
Love Song From Mutiny On The Bounty
Tonight
A Lot Of Livin' To Do
Song From "Two For The Seesaw"
Theme From Carnival
Love Theme From Period Of Adjustment
On The Street Where You Live

My Coloring Book

My Coloring Book

Green Onions

My Coloring Book
Modern Sound

From the back cover: Color can mean opportunity or disappointment, but whether you like pink, blue, red, green, or any combination, the secret of life is deeply woven in the colors that surround us. Life itself is a painting of sorts. When we are born we are given a large canvass and a brush, and we are able to paint a picture of our life using the colors we choose, as we go along. Our actions and the influence of other people are sure to appear on this canvas. There are only a few basic colors that we can use; it's the blending that actually makes the picture.

My Coloring Book
Blue Velvet
Blue On Blue
18 Yellow Roses
Little Band Of Gold
Green Onions
Roses Are Red
Rambling Rose
Ruby Baby
Take A Letter Miss Gray