Guitars... By George! - George Barnes

It Must Be True

Guitars... By George!
George Barnes
Decca Records DL 8658

1957

Here is another fine album by George Barnes. I've collected one other Barnes LP that you can find posted here (Guitar Galaxies).

The LP seems one or two songs short of material on each side (to fill out the vinyl). I don't know why this is.

The Whistle Blues is a great track as is Plink, Plank, Plunk and others. But, for a sample,  I warmed up to the dreamy tune titled It Must Be True.

Fiddle On Fire - Joe Venuti

I Want To Be Happy

Fiddle On Fire
Joe Venuti
Accompanied by Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra
Grand Award
G.A. 33-351
1957

Billed on this Enoch Light Grand Award release as "The World's Greatest Jazz Violinist".

This is a fine album with a sound that seems ahead of it's time on a number of tracks. I'm not sure who was working with Whiteman at this time or if there were a few New York session men sitting in with his people. But the piano work and the guitar work are as "on fire" as Venuti's Fiddle.

Curiously, Whiteman's list of "major" recordings ends on his wiki page with a 1956 release.

Venuti's wiki page places him in "relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s." He was playing with Jack Statham at the Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas during this period.

The Silence - Roy Etzel

Goldfinger

The Silence (Il Silenzio)
The Blue Trumpet Of Roy Etzel
Produced by Cantagallo Music Productions
Director of Engineering: Val Valentine
Cover Design: Acy Lehman
Cover Photo: Lester Kraus
MGM E/SE-4330
1966

From the back cover: Roy Etzel, who is known in his native Germany as "Mister Trumpet." has most enviable international reputation. His first MGM album (and incidentally his first LP to be released in the United States) reflects that very same international flavor with music from a variety of countries from around the world. 

Also from the back cover: Roy Etzel first moved into a professional trumpet career in 1947 when Kurt Edelhagen invited the young trumpet player to join his most successful big band. Roy left school to appear with the Edelhagen aggregation and soon became a favorite of the band's fans. After his stint with Edelhagen, Roy formed his own small combo and went on a very successful tour of the Continent. He visited France, Sweden and Switzerland.

Returning to Germany, Roy accepted a most attractive offer by Max Gregor to join his group. With Gregor, Etzel got to be known in even more European countries and also scored a sensation in the Soviet Union. It was soon after this that his recording of Jenny became the talk of the Continent. This led to his joining Hugo Strasser for a multiple of TV appearances. – Notes by Barbara K. Votens

The Silence (Ill Silenzio)
Sonny Boy
Melancholy
Sunrise
Puerto Rico
Goldfinger
La Mama
Stardust
Oh, Warum?
No Ho L'eta
More
El Amor

16 Top Hits

Enchanted Sea

Unforgettable

16 Top Hits
ARC Sound LTD. Toronto, Ontario

Obscure album featuring a collection of covers marketed to young adults in the late 50s or early 60s.

From the back cover: Find your own top favorites here on this LP, recorded for you by the country's leading vocalists and orchestras in highest fidelity.

The results are pretty good for a cover album. I bought the album for the cover of an exotica favorite of mine, Enchanted Sea. But Unforgettable also has a cool dreamy sound. Those tracks turned out to be a lot of fun!

Boss Beat - Sandy Nelson

Boss Beat
Sandy Nelson
IR Imperial LP-12298
1965

Gosh dang it! This one is available by MP3 purchase/download so I will not be posting a sample

This is a great mid-60s light-pop album that is set apart from period counterparts by the driving boss beat of drummer Sandy Nelson. There is one unique song on side two titled Drums In A Sea Cave. This song has an exotica vibe and also reminds me of a big band drum solo. The tune is totally different than any other song on the album and is one of my favorites. The album winds up with a wild cover of The 3rd Man Theme.

This LP was recorded several years after Nelson was in a motorcycle accident, receiving injuries that required amputation of his right foot and part of that leg. Obviously Nelson made a come back and recorded this fine album along with many more to follow. Read about Nelson on his wiki page.

Forbidden Fruit - Nina Simone

Nina Simone
Forbidden Fruit
Colpix CP 419
1961

Currently available on at least four different CDs including one combo CD with her album Newport and one triple CD with Sings Ellington and Folksy Nina.

This was my first Simone find. I bought the album for the cover art (I'm a sucker for tropical theme art). I'm not totally unwashed... I had heard of Simone and expected to find reviews on Amazon in support of this album. I didn't. So I thought... what the heck I'll say a few words. Great stuff... The LP is a mix of jazz, blues, torch songs and a few more unique and moody pieces that I recommend (if you are just purchasing single MP3s) titled: Rags And Old Iron and Just Say I Love Him.

The LP sound like it was recorded in an empty club with one microphone. This isn't a bad thing, the sound is a bit raw and smoky. The performances sound really fresh like everyone was having a good time. Colpix Records gave Simone all creative control so that she would sign with them. Simone was working on her "pop music" career to help fund her classic music studies. She was indifferent about having a recording contract and kept this attitude toward the record industry for most of her career.

Read more about her amazing life on her wiki page.

Women Of The World

Night Las Vegas

Women Of The World

Orchestra Conducted By Riz Ortolani
Decca DL 79112
1963

From the back cover: In Joseph E. Levine's presentation of Gualtiero Jacopetti's "Women Of The World," with a score by Riz Ortolani and Nino Oliviero, the epigram is upheld in dramatic visual and musical terms. The ladies portrayed in the movie and its music are from all over the world and from all walks of life. Starlets and street-walkers, beauties and bank presidents, hussies and heroines, and warriors and worriers are among the many females depicted in vivid sound-and-sight images. – Mike Gross

Donna Twist

Soldati e Soldatesse

Sirena e Strada Chiusa

Baci A Parigi

Night Las Vegas

Rancho Hotel

Pin Up Girls

Jerum Blues

Angelica

La Croisette

Finale Lourdes

Sounds Terrific - The Chorus And Percussion Of Keith Textor

The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair

Sounds Terrific
The Chorus And Percussion Of Keith Textor
The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow
Produced by George Avakian and Victor Sack
Recorded in Webster Hall, New York City
Cover Photo: Scotty Sapiro
Stereo Action
RCA Victor LSA-2365 (2 cover/die cut variations)
1961

From the disk sleeve: Keith Textor and Stereo Action (RCA Victor's exciting concept in stereophonic sound) were made for each other. Both have years of solid practical experience behind them which makes possible the flexibility required by the latest in sound reproduction equipment.

Keith Textor is a classically trained musician who organized a vocal group called The Honey Dreamers after his discharge from the Navy. The group was based in Chicago and appeared frequently on NBC.s Dave Garroway television show, playing a solid year at the Hotel Sherman's College Inn before moving on to New York and the cast of the Kay Kyser TV show.

He left the group at that time, worked for almost four years with Fred Waring as a featured performer, then joined Max Liebman's "Show of Shows." Since then, he has concentrated on composing and arranging for vocal groups of varying sizes. Some of his work has been for the radio and TV commercials of national products – most notably L&M cigarettes. But much of his energy has been directed toward records and television.

This record is a tour de force for his various talents. The almost visual aspects of Stereo Action call for a musician who can think in terms of stage production, of presenting a choreography of sound across the wall of your living room, from speaker to speaker. And Keith Textor does just that, moving voices, orchestra and sound effects like precision drill teams is an exciting display of virtuosity which enhances the musical value of the excellent songs which he has chosen.

Engineer Bob Simpson decided that the singers would sound fuller and he helped by having them face each other as they sang. The four boys were placed in a line facing the four girls, and each group had its own 47 Telefunken unidirectional mike. Each group was recorded on its own channel.

The musicians changed basic channel position frequently. Percussion was miked with an RCA 10,001. The woodwind player had an RCA 77DX. The tiny brass section – one trombone and one trumpet – also was miked with an RCA 77DX. The drummer drew an RCA BK5, the guitarist an Electro-Voice mike, and the bass player a 77DX.

Simpson felt, as his tape began to roll, that the studio arrangement and the choices of mikes was the most flexible possible. When those tapes arrived at Rerecording 5, the studio where Stereo Action is created, Engineer Dick Gardner had plenty of material to work with. Thanks to advance planning by Textor, Simpson, and the producers, it was possible to perform such improbable feats as (and you can hear this frequently, in many combinations, throughout the album) moving the boys' and girls' voices against each other, crossing some instruments at the same time, holding others in place, and moving the rest of the band at a pace and direction quite independent of everything else. How was this done? Ah-top secret!

From Billboard - May 29, 1961: In a brief period of several months, RCA Victor has successfully established its line of Stereo Action albums. It is known that each of the first four packages which were released during February and March sold about 35,000. Variations up or down from this figure were not more than 10 per cent. The first four packages were Marty Gold's "It Magic," Ray Martin's Dynamics," Dick Addeo's "The Music Goes Round and Round." Two subsequent Stereo Action albums, released in May, also give indications of being solid sellers. These packages are Keith Textor's "Sound Terrific" and Vic Schoen's Brass Laced With Strings."

According to Bob Yorke, division vice-president, Commercial Records Creation Department, the schedule of Stereo Action releases is being stepped up. Initially, eight were planned for this year, Yorke now plans a total of 15 for 1961. Next two upcoming are "Crazy Rhythm," by Guitar's Unlimited Plus 7, and "Future," by Bernie Green.

Music In Action

The Stereo Action line was RCA Victor's concept of "Music In Motion" and entails of "Music In Motion" and entails a deliberate effort to move the sound of instruments or voices from speaker to speaker to suspend the sound between speakers, etc. The packaging is de luxe, with detailed notes on studio equipment and a track-by-track breakdown of the music.

According to Yorke, the line caught on at the dealer and consumer level. There had been no mass exposure via radio; in fact, radio play was generally on monaural equipment. Similarly, no consumer advertising had been scheduled until this month. "It just filled a vacuum." Yorke remarked, and he added that the packaging had much to do with consumer acceptance.

In recently debuted lines base on concept of sound, it has been customary for the manufacturer to establish a monaural counterpart of the stereo version. RCA Victor has decided not to do this with Stereo Action. "We don't need the mono version to get off the nut and feel it would be unwise to water down the image of the line." Yorke stated. He added that despite the stable sales strength of the six initial packages, all involved in the project had not yet fulfilled themselves artistically. "We continue to learn new techniques... and the yardstick of merit must be musicality," Yorke added.

Surrey With The Fringe On Top
A Foggy Day
Gone Wit The Wind
You Turned The Tables On Me
Hey, Look Me Over
Syncopated Clock
Lonesome Road
South Rampart Street Parade
Perdido
The Wind And The Rain In Your Hair
I Get A Kick Out Of You

Chacksfield Plays The Beatles' Song Book

Chacksfield Plays The Beatles' Song Book
Frank Chacksfield And His Orchestra
Producers: Tony D'Amato and Ray Richardson
Engineer: Arthur Lilley
Design: Framlett, Barsanti & Assoc.
Phase 4 Stereo
London SP 44142
1970

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

It is still hard for me to believe that London released an easy listening Beatles cover album in 1970.

When I did the original post in 2011, I couldn't get into the concept or sound. However, the set sounds better to me as I listen to it again while I do this 2018 update. After listening to maybe 4,000 mood music albums since that time I guess I have a lot more examples to compare this set to. I'm reminded, once again, how subjective art can be. The Norwegian Wood and The Fool On The Hill arrangements are very good.

Get Back
Michelle
Got To Get You Into My Life
Something
Hey Jude
A Hard Day's Night
Norwegian Wood
Ticket To Ride
The Fool On The Hill
Come Together
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Sabrosa

Sabrosa Musica
de Jaimie Llano Gonzalez su organo y ritmos
Vol. VI
Musica de Rafael Excalona
Industria Electro-Sonora. S.A. Medellin, Colombia

I believe Sabrosa translates to "Tasty" Tasty Music?

There are photos of other Sonolux album covers on the back cover that suggest Sonolux pressed an entire series of albums titled Sabrosa with Gonzalez. All the covers have are cheesecake but don't show nipple like this one.

The music is quite fun featuring a 60s space age organ vibe, a treatment I haven't hear before.

Apparently Gonazlez is still active and there is an hugh list of his work available on Amazon so I refrain from posting a sample here. This is just one of those odd records with a fun cover that I find in Northern Kentucky from time to time.