Tangled Tunes, Part 1; and more!

Albert Ketelbey's Tangled Tunes, Part 1 is here. This time, it ripped with skipping. So to speak.

This side is noisier than the flip--dunno why. I can't tell by looking at it. Maybe it was scraped against another 78 in a stack, leaving scuffs too small to be seen but large enough to create crackle. That's one theory. One sleeveless 78 in contact with another.

Always, always store your 78s in sleeves. So many gramophone-era scratches, scrapes, and scuffs could have been avoided simply and cheaply. That's the tragedy of it.

Now I'm despressed. O.K., time for the Columbia Orchestra. Take it away, Columbia Orchestra:

Tangled Tunes, Part 1 (A.W. Ketelbey), Columbia Orchestra, 1915. From Columbia 78.

And here's Part 2, reposted for everyone's convenience:

Tangled Tunes, Part 2.

This next one is called Uncle Tom. I know, I know. But it's a very nice number, and while the Uncle Tom stereotype is viewed nowadays as evil (which it is), it came not from Harriet Beecher Stowe's great novel but from the various stage melodramas based on same. Darwin suffered a similar fate, of course, what with his ideas distorted in the form of Social Darwinism (though not via melodramas, probably). Pop culture can be hell on ideas and their originators.

At any rate (33 1/3, 45, or 78 rpm), this is a very charming rag by Joseph C. Smith's own Hugo Frey. I'm not sure if I did a great job with this file or if I went a bit overboard on the lower freq.'s. One or the other:

Uncle Tom--One-Step (Hugo Frey), Black and White Marimba Band, 1916. From Columbia 78.

That was pretty charming, no?

The following Chas. K. Harris medley is by Prince's Orchestra, except that my copy (on the Climax label) credits it to "Orchestra." But it's them, for sure. This much we know. What we don't know is why Climax released Part 2 without Part 1. Perhaps so that, 96 years later, people like me would be asking, "Where's Part 1?" That's probably it:

Medley of Chas. K. Harris Hits, Part 2--Prince's Orchestra, 1910. From Climax label 78.

These next two sides are by evangelistic baritone Homer Rodeheaver. If you don't like Rodeheaver, best skip these, as they're Homer at his Rodeheaverest (I, myself, love his voice). However, the songs are terrific. For instance, the first--Charles H. Gabriel's An Evening Prayer--has been recorded by George Beverly Shea, Mahalia Jackson, The Florida Boys, Elvis Presley, and Willie Nelson, among others. Just a great tune, and I've been seeking this version for a while:

An Evening Prayer (Battersby-Gabriel), Homer Rodeheaver with Orchestra, 1915. From Victor 78.

And dig the great reed organ on this one:

How Sweet Is His Love (Rowe-Excell), Homer Rodeheaver with organ, 1915. From Victor 78.

That side was all clicks and pops. One MAGIX splice-athon later, the pops were all gone! (This testimonial not paid for by MAGIX.)



Lee

"Petticoat Junction: Ultimate Collection;" Climax records

Eleven hours total, and only $19.95 from Movies Unlimited. I know, because we got ML's latest catalog today.

Petticoat Junction: Ultimate Collection. Yup, there it is. I didn't dream it.

"So, what DVDs have you bought lately?" "Just one--Petticoat Junction: Ultimate Collection." "(Stunned silence)"

Anyway, I mention the Climax label, and what comes to mind? "Adult" records, right? "Party" discs.

Nope. Climax was a 78 label that issued Columbia label titles--at least mine has Columbia titles and matrix #'s. Here's what Climax looked like. It's fairly cool:



















"Orchestra" is, in fact, Prince's Orchestra. The flip side features tenor Byron Harlan, who is credited as "Tenor Solo." I'll be posting the Harris medley soon.

I have no idea why Climax/Columbia decided to feature Part 2 but not Part 1 of the Chas. K. Harris medley. Maybe they didn't know, either. Harris is best-known for After the Ball and Break the News to Mother. A lot of Harris' sheet music covers featured models posing as characters from the song. Seriously. Both tunes are probably regarded as Victorian Era titles by many, but I think of Harris as Edwardian era. I believe this, not only because his fame lasted into the 1910s, but because the start of the Edwardian Era is considered by many to have been 1890-ish vice 1901. It's not set in stone. (I'm not making this up, either.)

My point is simple: Petticoat Junction: Ultimate Collection is the only DVD you'll ever need to own.

78s coming up, including the first part of Tangled Tunes. The file came out perfectly this time.

Meanwhile, our glamor-girl Manx, Reddy, says "hi." (She may look a little huffy, but she's actually very sweet. So long as she is obeyed.):













Lee

1912 percussion, and more audio artifacts

Here are some of the fun shellac sounds I found at Karen Wickliff Books (in Columbus, Ohio) last weekend. Fireflies was apparently a follow-up to the much more famous Glow-Worm--a tune that most of us likely first heard in the Spike Jones version. Same composer--Paul Lincke. It's an Idyll, which the New Harvard Dictionary of Music describes as "a musical work evoking the quality of pastoral or rural life." Yeah, I can picture this playing behind a country scene in a silent flick. For a 1912 disc, it sure features a loud and clear kettledrum:

Fireflies (Paul Lincke), Prince's Orchestra, 1912. From Columbia 78.

And here are two superbly-arranged sides by Joseph C. Smith (charts by Hugo Frey, maybe?). The songs are by Jerome David Kern. Two of my all-time favorite dance band discs:

Whose Baby Are You? (Jerome Kern), Joseph C. Smith and His Orch., 1920. From Victor 78.

Left All Alone Again Blues (Jerome Kern), Joseph C. Smith and His Orch., 1920. From Victor 78.

I'd never heard of Albert W. Ketelbey's Tangled Tunes until I found this recording. Pretty neat stuff--a non-stop medley of tunes both familiar and unfamiliar. Speaking for myself, that is. You, on the other hand, might recognize them all. Part 1 of the medley didn't rip properly--my software decided to "skip" twice or thrice. I hate it when that happens. Here's Part 2, anyway:

Tangled Tunes, Part 2 (Ketelbey), Columbia Orchestra, 1915. From Columbia 78.

We close with two cool 1921 dance sides on the Regal label. These two don't show up in my Brian Rust American Dance Band Discography, but we can't expect it to list everything. The second orchestra might be Nathan Glanz'--dunno. Neil Moret, writer of Mello Cello, is better known for Chloe. Speaking of Spike Jones again....

Nesting Time (James F. Hanley), Sherwin's Broadway Orchestra, 1921. From Regal 78.

Mello Cello (Neil Moret), Metropolitan Dance Orchestra, 1921. From Regal 78.

Neil Moret was born Charles N. Daniels in Leavenworth, Kansas on April 23, 1878. Thanks, Songwriters Hall of Fame. And we'll be holding a funeral for the apostrophe later in the week. An overdue funeral....


Lee

McAfee sucks

So, McAfee tells me it has a free upgrade; all I have to do is download it. Fine. First try, no download. I ignore the following two offers, but decide to upgrade this morning when the prompt appears. This time it works. For a while.

Then it tells me I need to remove the spyware program I recently installed. Ahhhhh... no. So I choose to "skip" that particular upgrade installation.

Finally, the new and improved McAfee Security Center is installed, only there's an ominous-looking warning (!) telling me "Your computer is not protected." What??? So, I click on the icon as instructed, and a box comes up. The box tells me nothing, so I check for updates. Before long, my Dell has frozen up. "Gosh dang it," I utter.

Restart the computer, wait a bit, and once again the yellow "!" icon is there, telling me "Your computer is not protected." I click on the thing (as instructed), and this time it tells me I don't have such-and-such extra protection--do I want it? No, I do not want such-and-such extra protection, and I tell the box so. Unfortunately, "Thanks for trying to scam me, you con artists" wasn't the available response--it was something like, "No, I do not want this feature." A measure of civility McAfee didn't deserve.

Then, suddenly, my protection is up to date. Wow! Just like magic. Thanks, McAfee, for trying to trick me into adding a feature. It would have served the characters right if I took the "not protected" message seriously and uninstalled their software. I mean, if it isn't protecting my computer, why keep it? But I paid for the bleeping program, and, by tarnation, I'm using it.

Come renewal time, however.... ("Wah, wah, waaaaaah" music byte, fade)


Lee

Ha, ha! Look at the circa-1910 parlor musicians! Chortle!

Snicker, snort! Amateur musicians from days gone by! Ha, ha! Old-fashioned dresses, 100-year-old wallpaper! Guffaw! Snort!

Don't mind me--I'm being sophisticated. Being sophisticated, these days, means ridiculing everything that isn't modern. Because we're so freaking cool, you understand.

Actually, this is one of the neatest photos I've ever seen. I found it in a thrift store (or maybe an antique mall), and who knows where it came from--I can't tell from the way it was mounted whether it was a home photo or something from a magazine, or.... But I do know that it's an amazing document.

I'm always grateful when I come across an unadulterated peek at the past like this one. It brings yesterday into the present. Lovely.

Er, I mean.... Haw, haw, haw! Look at the three ladies playing a concert in their living room. Chortle, guffaw! The past! Ha, ha, ha! The way people were at one time!! Chortle, snort, etc.!!

Lee, trying to be hip

The University of Kansas Orchestra, 1904

Walt gave me the link to a wonderful photo featuring composer Charles Sanford Skilton and the University of Kansas Orchestra from 1904. Thanks, Walt!

And a late thank-you to Crimson Crow, who looked into the mystery of who played the marvelous electric guitar solo on Eddie Kirk's 1951 Freight Train Breakdown, a record I featured not too long ago. Based on her info, I'm tempted to guess the ace musician in question was Hank Garland. Only a guess, but thanks to CC, it's an educated one.

In other news, I'm putting together some promotional art for my new band, People Holding Ghost Heads:





































You probably don't believe me. I'm not sure I do, either, in this case.

Lee

"Chant of the Weed" and "Shanghai Dream Man"

Announcing the return of two of my favorites:

"THE RETURN OF TWO OF MY FAVORITES!!" (Echo)

Boy, that was fun.

So, I recently got a better-sounding recording of Andre Kostelanetz' version of Chant of the Weed. The last time I posted the track, I gave the year as 1936, but a reader recently corrected me--it was 1935. I'd gotten my incorrect info from a partial discography in a pop music encyclopedia. Many thanks to that reader (who didn't leave his name, else I'd mention it).

I think the file came out well. The main problem, EQ-wise, lay with getting the over-engineered lower end toned down. Not only did the low freq.'s sound clunky and muddy, they were taking up too much of the input signal. They had to go. So, go they did.

There's some hiss in spots, what with the dynamics ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo, but a 78 without some hiss wouldn't be... quiet.

I mean, it wouldn't be a 78:

Chant of the Weed (Don Redman), Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra, 1935. From 12" Victor 78.


















And here, making its third appearance at this blog, is the 1927 Paul Whiteman classic Shanghai Dream Man, which might be my favorite side by that great bandleader. The arrangement is the inspired work of Ferde Grofe:

Shanghai Dream Man (Benny Davis-Harry Akst), Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra, 1927. From Victor 78.

Perhaps a little trebly, that EQ. But the tom-toms at the beginning are crisp and full, and the brass is nice and bright. One can do worse than crisp tom-toms and bright brass.

I'm not sure what in the heck I just typed....


Lee

Two marvelous pieces by Charles Sanford Skilton

Over the weekend, I bought ten 78s at Karen Wickliff Books (by far, Columbus, Ohio's coolest used book store), and there isn't a dud in the bunch. Best of the lot is the Victor Concert Orchestra playing two pieces by American composer Charles Sanford Skilton (1868-1941) that use Native American Indian tribal melodies. As in, beautifully. Skilton pretty much blows away similar efforts by Edward MacDowell and Ferde Grofe--I must learn more about this guy!

The 78 is in so-so condition, but I got some pretty good sound out of it. It was more than worth the EQing effort. This stuff is awesome:

War Dance (Cheyenne), from Suite Primeval (Charles Sanford Skilton, 1920)--Victor Concert Orchestra, directed by Rosario Bourdon, 1929. From Victor 78.

Shawnee Indian Hunting Dance (Charles Sanford Skilton, 1929?)--Victor Concert Orchestra, directed by Rosario Bourdon, 1929. From Victor 78.

I haven't recovered from these yet--hot damn. Now, why isn't Skilton much, much better-known? (And it looks like Amazon.com has one CD, and one CD only, containing Skilton works. And it's out of print.)

Here's the only Skilton photo I was able to find, from Portraits of the World's Best-Known Musicians (Theodore Presser, 1946):



















Robert Duvall's dad? No, I don't think so. Then again....

Must find more Skilton....


Lee

Bird feeder sighting

Earlier today, I spotted this weird four-footed bird on the north bird feeder. (What I was doing on the north bird feeder, no one knows.) I only managed to snap one shot, because he rushed down the pole the moment I came near:


















Pretty darn big for a bird, no?

Anyway, maybe he or she will show up again and let me get a better photo.

(Raccoons? Yes, we have a lot of them around here. Why do you ask?)


Lee

"Ohio GOP in denial about e-mail questioning Stricklands' sexuality."

Dispatch senior editor Joe Hallett, unlike vicious-rumor-spreader Scott Pullins, writes well. And, unlike Pullins, Hallett knows how to punctuate--he uses commas properly and understands how the possessive apostrophe works. Maybe it's an issue of intelligence. In addition, he has a sense of decency. The list of differences goes on and on.

Anyway, Hallett wrote a fairly angry Sunday column about the Ohio Republican Party's slimeball campaign to portray Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland and his wife as a gay couple. Joe's piece says it all. "By Nov. 7," he writes, "Ohio voters might be too sickened by it all to go to the polls. Maybe that’s the goal." Could be, seeing as how J. Kenneth Blackwell is way behind Strickland in surveys. And seeing how people love to blame Dems and Repubs equally for slimeball tactics, even though the two parties aren't equally guilty, by a long shot. Distinguishing between bullies and the bullied requires an I.Q. higher than most Ohioans possess, apparently.

Ohio cop: "Now, let me get this clear. Were you the robber, or were you the person who was robbed?" Ohio crime victim: "Uh.... I don't understand the distinction."

Yup. Two parties, and one of the two parties is behaving very badly. The other isn't. Is/isn't; one party/the other party. Jesus--those are four details to process.

I can't imagine why I've lost faith in Ohio voters; I mean, is it really possible I had any to begin with?

Anyway, what did Bert Bacharach (Burt's dad) think of Ohio? Maybe nothing. Yes, that's Bert Bacharach, the late newspaper columnist and one-time father-in-law of Angie Dickinson. Circa 1970.



















Lee