Soundproof - Ferrante And Teicher

The Sound Of Tomorrow Today!
Soundproof
Ferrante and Teicher

Cover Photo courtesy M.G.M. Pictures producers of "Forbidden Planet"
Westminster Records WP 6014
1956

From Billboard - September 8, 1956: All stops are pulled out to make this the most gimmicky hi-fi piano disk on the market. The highly accomplished team uses multi-tracking, altered tape speeds, gimmicked pianos, 17 microphones of various types, etc. There are many sounds here that have never been heard on a disk before, and most of the 12 selections are naturals for disk jockey variety. Try "Mississippi Boogie" for a sample. Among the selections are "What Is This Thing Called Love," Cumbanchero," etc.

What Is This Thing Called Love?

El Cumbanchero

Greensleeves

Mississippi Boogie

Mermaid Waltz

Man from Mars 

Baia

Breeze and I

Someone to Watch Over Me

African Echoes

Dark Eyes

Lover

Orchids In The Moonlight

The Sound Of Tomorrow Today!

Soundproof

Ferrante and Teicher

Cover Photo courtesy M.G.M. Pictures producers of "Forbidden Planet"

Westminster Records WST 15011

1958

From the back cover: What other duo-pianists can boast that they have played together wince the age of six? Arthur Ferrante and Louis Teicher were fellow prodigies at New York's famous Juilliard School of Music, and even while students they appeared as a team. After graduation they gave a few joint recitals, then decided to take time out to prepare a really distinctive repertoire. Together they returned to Juilliard, this time as fellow members of the faculty, and spent all their spare hours for the next year or so working over the standard pieces and cleansing them of every last hackneyed cliché. Their professional debut as a team took place quite a distance from eh concert hall, for they bowed in as a popular piano dup at New York's sophisticated penthouse might club, S[ivy's Roof. They were such a hit with the starlight crowd that they went on to more cosmopolitan boîtes like the Blue Angel, the Little Club and the Ritz-Carlton Terrace. Since 1947 they have been criss-crossing the country annually, winning laurels everywhere for what The New York Times called their "prodigious technical feats." Radio and television audiences know them for their guest stints on Piano Playhouse, and the Firestone, Telephone and Carnation courts. They have also appeared with leading symphony orchestra throughout the country. Their gift for blending the classic with the modern and the "heavy" with the "light," their extraordinary sensitivity, their technical perfection– these are just a few of the reason why one stern Manhattan critic, echoing the national consensus, called Ferrante and Teicher "the most exciting piano team of our time."

Peg-Leg Merengue

Brazil

Poinciana

Mama To Quero

Orchids In The Moonlight

Cumana

Tico-Tico

Frenesi

Mexican Hat Dance

Siboney

Loose Ends Merengue

La Cucaracha

Kiss Of Fire - The Exotica Sounds of de los Rios

Kiss Of Fire
The Exotic Sound of (Waldo) de los Rios
Columbia CL 965
1957

Available from online vendors, so I will not be posting a sample. Presented here to share the original cover and liner note excerpts.

Rios moved to Spain in 1962 and committed suicide in 1977, a victim of acute depression.

This is a terrific Latin flavored mood/exotica set that features some "experimental" percussion and screeching strings.

Just when you think Rios' arranging style will fall back on typical period mood, he throws in some interesting sound or a surprise instrument to perk your interest.

From the back cover: In Argentina – and in the United States too – the name de los Rios is a hope for the future. At an age when most artists are only beginning to make their talents known, Waldo de los Rios has already attained international recognition as an artist, as a composer, as a conductor and as an arranger.

He was born in Buenos Aires on September 7, 1934. His choice of music as a career was influenced by his mother, the well-known folk singer, Martha de los Rios. He began his studies at seven and in due time was graduated from the National Conservatory of Music and Scenic Art with a degree of Professor in Music. His professional career began at thirteen, when he played the piano as accompanist to his mother, along with a band composed of guitars and instruments typical of Argentine folk music. He also toured with his mother, and developed a genuine and lasting interest in the music of the countries he visited.

The turning point in his career occurred when his mother asked him to make special orchestrations for some music she was planning to record. The resulting arrangements were so brilliant that he was signed by the directors of Columbia Argentina who, in turn, brought him to the attention of Columbia Records. His initial records in Argentina were enormously successful and helped to rekindle a national interest in the musical heritage. For this program, de los Rios has chosen a fascinating group of South American melodies, and arranged them for a dazzling array of instruments largely unknown to North America, in addition to using the resources of a regular orchestra. The songs are from the Argentine, Paraguay, Chile and Peru, and lose none of their natural flavor in de los Rios' imaginative settings.

A media luz
Camino a Belen
Pasionaria
Ay, Ay, Ay
Medley: India; Pajaro, Campana
Medley: Camba cual; Camba yeroky
El Choclo
Vamos, Pastoricillos
Nube Gris
La Tristeza y el Mar
Sol Alegre
El Humahuaqueno

The Touchables

The Touchables
20th Century-Fox Record Corporation S 4206
1968

This album was a great find at my local Goodwill. The bins seemed well picked over, but I found this LP sporting an interesting cover that promised to delivered some light 60s pop fun.

Side one did deliver the light 60s pop fun that I had hoped for. The surprise tune on the A side,The Chase, is a terrific piece of ping-pong fueled percussion. Side two really grabbed me. Sadies Theme and Christian & Melanie are track one and two. Those songs are experimental, by comparison to side one tracks. Christian & Melanie ends with a beautifully crafted orchestrated segment that has a hint of King Crimson Court Of The Crimson King. No one else may get that... but it struck me.

There is never a dull moment, even a cover of Jalousie on side two, done up in a 30s big band fashion, doesn't seem out of place because it is so odd in context of the rest of the music.

The Touchables Theme is the last track on the B side reminds me of early Pink Floyd (A Nice Pair). A lovely tune. What a great record!

Pipe Organ And Percussion

Song Of India

Pipe Organ And Percussion
Promenade Records 2228

Obscure budget percussion album from Promenade. No artist/orchestra listed. No date, although I'd have to guess early 60s because of the "ping-pong" effects.

For budget, this is pretty good stuff. Whoever recorded the album made some effort to blend all the instruments into a sound with personality. And the pipe organ/percussion approach is odd enough to hold your attention.

Also released as:

Fabulous Sounds Of The Pipe Organ And Percussion
Pirouette Records
RFM 64

Martin Goes Latin - Ray Martin

Portuguese Washerwomen

Martin Goes Latin
Ray Martin And His Orchestra
Imperial LP 9087
1960

Here's a somewhat obscure and great space age pop Latin album.

Ray Martin moved from Europe to the U.S. in 1957 and produced more than 2000 works until he returned to the UK in 1972.

This album fits nicely into what was happening in light pop in the early 60s.

The Latin Touch - Carlos Molina

Tico-Tico

El Compas Del Mambo

Latin Touch
Carlos Molina And His Orchestra
Coronet CX-270
Premier Albums Inc.

Somewhat obscure Latin album featuring Carlos Molina who, from the back cover, was engaged at New York's famous Biltmore Hotel. The jacket notes also go on to say that Molina, through radio, had the "distinction to have introduced the Tango, Rhumba and Conga in the United States for the first time, and he has been the headlining orchestra in every fine hotel in the country."

It is difficult to find any information on Molina. If he introduced all these forms to the American audience he did it long before this album was released. Coronet repackage this material from other Molina recordings including enough material to fill side "A" leaving side "B" filled with off-the-shelf traditional South American tracks. Also see Mambo Jumbo.

The vocals on Tico-Tico are credited to Charlita.

Tico Tico
Come To The Mardi Gras
Mambo #5
Mambo #8
El Compas Del Mambo
Ay Mi Chatita
Virjencita De Mi Vida
Las Casadas
Mujer Celosa
Por Mi Lloraras

Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks

Let's All Sing With The Chipmunks
David Seville And The Chipmunks
Liberty LPR 3132
1959

This is the original Liberty release on red vinyl. Several years later the reissue would feature The Chipmunks in their more recognizable form (from the 1961-62 TV cartoon, The Alvin Show).

This jacket cover is red foil with over printing.

Around The World With The Chipmunks and David Seville
Liberty LRP 3170
1960

OK... I'm 55 years old and I still LOVE this record! Once again, we have a Liberty Chipmunks released just before the animated representations of the characters set their look in stone.

The music is fun because of all the "folk styles" required to create the songs the "boys" sing as they travel around the world. And of course... who can forget the catchy tune Japanese Banana? I know I can't.

Echoes Of Latin American - The Continental Trio

Peanut Vendor

Echoes Of Latin America
The Continental Trio
Plymouth P-12-138

Obscure album released on the one of the most budget labels I've ever come across, Plymouth. However Plymouth did feature graphically appealing album jackets. This LP was probably a mid-50s pressing. Surprisingly, Plymouth listed the group's name, but Lord knows who made up The Continental Trio.

There are no tracks on this album. I've seen this before on budget records, maybe it was Plymouth. The songs butt right up against one another as if the group played through a recording session without a break.

As you can tell from the sample, the music is very much like you were sitting in a lounge listening to some guys playing away as if they were waiting for their next break. Very uninspiring.

But the fun doesn't end there. Why on the cover does Plymouth bill a Latin album as being "Recorded In Europe"? Who knows. Plymouth didn't even have enough "Latin" music to fill an entire LP. They padded out the album with canned classical music on side two. I can't even imagine what a record buyer must have thought when they put this gem on their turn table.

Maderas que Cantan

La Marimba

Maderas que Cantan
Marimba de Zeferino
Hermanos Nandayapa
Arregios y Direccion de Rafael Carrion
Harmony Columbia HL 8149

Mexican pressing probably late 50s early 60s. I found this in a Northern Kentucky thrift today.

Hammond Organ Hits Of 1967

Song Of India

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

Obscure LP and artist. Nice cover of exotica favorite, Song Of India.