A quick Google search brought up nothing on Jay Gordon (I tried his name in combination with the phrases "light music" and "orchestra leader"), and it's quite possible there's more than one orchestra on this LP, anyway, given that (to my surprise) Deserted Ballroom is the same version we recently heard on Varsity, where it was credited to Elliot Everett and His Orch.! The track sounds way better here, though. Wow--Tops using Eli Oberstein material. I'll have to check into that--Tops had possibly bought up Eli's labels come 1957, the release year for this. I had this ages ago, and I'd bought it for the cool cover--but the music didn't move me, because it didn't seem to go with the cover. Now I appreciate the selections as top-tier light music--just a wonderful program of stuff. The sound quality is a highly pleasant surprise--it's superb throughout. This is some of the most vivid monaural sound I've ever heard.
No composer creds, though Deserted Ballroom is by Morton Gould, while the roots-of-Exotica classic Lotus Land is by Cyril Scott. Meanwhile, March of the Pink Elephants is the work of Harry Bluestone, and Dance of the Elves (I almost typed "Elvis") was composed by Emil Cadkin. As for the rest, you're on your own,. Emil Cadkin is a library music pioneer who also also wrote music for movies, TV shows, and Hanna-Barbera cartoons. Some of his stock music was used in 1968's Night of the Living Dead. He's still with us, at the age of 100. Harry Bluestone (1907-1922), a studio musician born in England, also composed for TV and movies. Wikipedia reports that he discovered actor Robert Clary (Hogan's Heroes). Bluestone can be heard on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
If you find yourself hearing more than a bit of Ravel's Bolero in Chant of the Amazon (composer unknown), welcome to the club. And the atypically fast tempo for Lotus Land is similar to the one Cyril Scott used when he recorded the work, so...
Normally, on old budget vinyl, I'd have used my Stanton 500 cartridge, but I decided to use my better needle and cart, and the results are terrific. I correctly figured that VinylStudio would take out the many light clicks and pops (the snooty term is "ticks"), and I was right. You won't have to cope with a single one. In two instances, I did my cheat of cutting out a "long" section of noise and replacing it with part of the file which either preceded or followed that section. I put "long" in quotes because we're only talking a fraction of a second, but in both cases the chunk of noise was too big to excise without interrupting the rhythm. It doesn't take much.
This turned up for me yesterday as part of a very satisfying Goodwill stop (despite no holiday selections). It's always nice to run into one of Top's superior productions.
The linter notes are all hype, with no background on the "world-famous" Jay Gordon Concert Orchestra, but since the content is so exceptional, who's complaining? Not me.
DOWNLOAD: Music From Another World--The Jay Gordon Concert Orch. (Tops L1552; 1957)
Lee
10 comments:
Nice! Don't think I've ever seen this one. I'd have bought it just for the cover as well. :)
I am enjoying this. But I have to say the person who does the whistling on "The High and the Mighty" is no Fred Lowery. I envision Enoch at the session realizing he forgot to hire someone, and saying to the orchestra, "Hey, any of you folks know how to whistle?"
The Brigadiers do a good Four Aces impression, but this song is better without the jog-trot quartet nonsense and in the hands of someone like Sinatra.
I was surprised to have Will Bradley make an appearance. Good song - the tenor sort of sounds like Eddie Miller.
Haven't we heard that Artie Malvin "Rock Around the Clock" once or twice before? I hope Artie wasn't paid a flat fee.
"Where Is Your Heart" is one of my favorite melodies of its type. This is a good performance; my favorite is by Boston Pops and Fiedler.
Old Bob Eberly sounds pretty good here. "April Love" was one of the best Pat Boone records; he sounds much like Bing Crosby, who must have been his idol.
Thanks for the album!
Ernie,
Sure! My mistake, way back when, was ditching the thing because the music doesn't live up to the promise of the cover, so to speak. I should have judged the music on its own terms. And, for cheap labels, album concepts are just an excuse to compile a bunch of tracks, anyway--no logic involved.
Buster,
You had me very confused for a moment. I think you're responding to my earlier post, "Themes from Hollywood Films." And, yes, Waldorf reused Mavlin's "RATC" like crazy, and I'm betting it was a flat fee--but I don't know. Given the cheapness of the Waldorf "family" of labels, I'd guess he received no royalties. "Where Is Your Heart" is one of my favorite songs-from-a-movie-soundtrack hits, too. "Music from Another World" features it, also, and I should compare the Audition (Waldorf) track with the Tops, in case there was any trading off. Probably not, but... George Auric, of course, was one of Les Six, and I know him from his fabulous movie scores, the very best of which has to be Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast." That's one of the all-time masterpieces of film scoring. His way with form was very interesting--he learned a lot from Eric Satie. Namely, he used Satie's brand of shortened phrases, shifting meters, etc. He just cuts to the quick. It's a very abstract approach, though Auric's "Moulin Rogue" song is, of course, totally conventional in structure--and incredibly beautiful. I get mad at arrangers who trivialize the II7/V progression that's so essentially to the song. ("I worry and wonder...") I have to think back on Eberly's "April Love"--yes, it's impressive, and he does give it more of a classic crooner approach than any hack at Tops or SPC would have done. Thanks for your review!
Lee - Sorry! I must be (am) behind in my listening! I too like Auric. I posted his "Bonjour Tristese" score years ago.
Great budget post Lee... VERY well done album. TOPS had a number of "Jay Gordon" albums they put out around 1957... if you run across any more I'd love to hear them. Thanks for a fun listen. Burt
(p.s. - Buster had me confused too.:))
Buster--
No problem! Exactly the kind of goof I would make. I have the main theme from "Bonjour Tristese" (which I've seen part of), and I love it.
Burt--
Glad you liked this. Yes, it's an exceptional LP, by any standards--budget or "major." I may have found another Gordon LP on that trip. I'll have to check to see who the orchestra is. If it's Gordon, I'll definitely put it up. I just wonder if Jay is catch-all name like "Elliot Everett," which (as I'm sure you know) was actually part of Eli Oberstein's name.
A winner! This will fit in nicely alongside my collection of Les Baxter. Great transfer. Thank you so much.
My sinuses have finally settled down, so I'm nearly headache free today, and bass tones aren't distorting in my ears. Hope you're doing well.
Larry,
You're welcome! And my sinuses decided to act up today. The temperature drop seems to not be going down well with them. But I know what you mean about bass tones. During hayfever season, I have a hard time EQ'ing anything, because my stuffy head makes it hard for me to hear the tonal and dynamic balances properly. During those periods, the bass sounds inflated.
Glad your headaches are gone!
Lee another great Lp. Somewhat in the Lush area of music, as I would call them. A bit disappointing though. Just seeing the cover had me thinking it would be more Space Age music. Pity, but it is currently on rotation on my mp3 player. So it is "Tops" with me. Now I am being a bit silly. But we need a bit of levity during these times. Bryan
Bryan,
Good word play. Glad you enjoyed this one. I agree that the music is excellent, despite the fact it's not quite Space Age Pop. Can't have everything, I guess!
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