Thrift store shellac scores: "Ghost Riders in the Sky," "Cheroubtoul Rah."

 

"Thrift store shellac scores"--say that ten times.  ("That, that, that, that...")  Yes, we find some of the least usual shellac in thrift stores.  Alongside the common-as-dust platters (Frankie Laine on Columbia, etc.).

I'll start with two "Arabic" 12-inch 78s which, after any number of listens, I find quite interesting.  However, no need to apologize if your response is closer to "Was the needle stuck in the groove?" or "Yikes!" or "Huh??"  It's the kind of ethnic music which radically departs from the ways of Western music--Western form, anyway.  And both sides are pre-electric (1909 for the first; the second, unknown).

Both artists--Abdel Hai Effendi Hilmy and Salim Douman--were popular Arab-American singers, with Abdel passing away in 1912--Douman, in 1955.  Now we know.

The Douman side, Lahar Anhy, is the livelier of the two, though it has the same stuck-on-the-tonic drone feel.  The side also sports a wide crack, the sound of which I painstakingly edited out of the file (my wrists have yet to un-numb).  The crack rendered the B side impossible to save, given the chipped-away areas, but A was (more or less) rescuable.  Abdel's 1909 effort--Cheroubtoul Rah, Pts. 1 and II--is slower but with relatively better fidelity, since I was able to use my 3.0 mil 78 stylus.  In the case of Douman, I opted for my 1.2 mil stylus, which 1) made for less than perfect groove compliance, but 2) less noise from the crack.  

And, honestly, I'm expecting most listeners to give each file, at most, a 30-second chance before moving on.

The Mac Gregor label square-dance sides by Rusty's Rides make for a night-and-day contrast with the Arabic tracks.  They're a fun reward for anyone with the stuff to endure twelve minutes of the Opera Disc Company and Macsoud sides.

And, according to a 78 expert who clearly knows his stuff (at the 78 rpm records & cylinders fan group Facebook page), the Discogs data on the Opera Disc Company is false--it was not a "bootleg" label.  To quote the expert, "The discs were pressed in Germany by Deutsche Gramophone which did not have a license to sell most of these outside Germany."  Now we know, Part 2.

My label shots are digital pics, since my new Epson scanner has a depth of focus of approximately half a hair-width.  My chief problem with my old Epson was far too much detail.  With my new one: Out of focus scans for anything not flush with the glass. 

DOWNLOAD: Arabic, Mac Gregor 78s

Lahar Anhy (Bagdady)--Salim Doumani (Macksoud 115)

Cheroubtoul Rah, Pts. I and II--Abdel Hai Effendi Hilmy (Opera Disc Company 200041; 1909)

Ghost Riders in the Sky--Rusty's Riders (Mac Gregor 681)

Smoke Smoke Smoke (Talkin; up the Square)--Same

                                                                                                                         Salim and Abdel

Lee

Happy Birthday, Merv: Let's Dance Tonight (1952)

 

Actually, Merv's birthday was the 6th, but I'm within a week.  And I've been wanting to feature this 1952 EP set (which also appeared as a 10-inch LP) for some time.  And the 1952 release year is contained in the matrix #: E2PW.  In case you were wondering.

Six excellent Merv-with-Freddy numbers which, along with some others, don't show up on Jasmine's Early in the Day – The Singles Collection CD.  So, I could call them blog exclusives.  I think I will.  (Ahem.)  These are blog exclusives.  There, I said it.

The two instrumental tracks are an odd pair: Wabash Blues and Parade of the Wooden Soldiers.  And, of course, while both are outstanding dance numbers, they don't swing: Martin's band was a "sweet" outfit.  Aka, MOR, "Mickey," or probably worse.  Myself, I regard Martin's fantastic group as the finest of the non-swing big bands, along with Kay Kyser.  The musicianship is never less than superb, and Freddy had quite a knack for finding first-rank band vocalists, Merv included.

Best number?  Probably Leroy Anderson's Serenata, with lyrics by Mitchell Parish.  If I had to choose, that is.  Fidelity is fabulous, and I noticed that the "RCA 1949-" curve in my VinylStudio program (the response curve I applied here) is quite close to the RIAA curve.  Close enough as to not matter, probably.

Merv's been gone 18 (not quite 19) years already, and that's another "What happened to the years?" moment for me.  As I believe I mentioned some years back, I had the pleasure, circa 2005, of ripping a CD for Merv (of his own sides) via his manager.  She shared his email response--all about the fun he had listening to "the old songs."  It felt terrific to give back to a singer who made my vinyl and shellac collecting that much more of a pleasure.  And to think that my Merv-collecting started circa 1982 as a joke.  That is to say, I thought it would be amusing to amass a collection of Merv's recordings, figuring that his discography couldn't be that large.  Wrong!

And, of course, along the way I came to like his work a great deal.  My favorite Merv holdings include some pre-Martin demo 78s and his 1946 Songs by Merv Griffin 78 set on his very own Panda label.  Complete with an autograph to his "dear friend Mrs. Hawkins."  But I fear we've entered the "Who was Merv Griffin?" phase of U.S. popular culture.  After all, even some classic rock bands are unknown to younger listeners come 2024, and so I'm sure that Merv's off the radar.  Indeed, there are members of my own generation who didn't know that the famous talk show host had made records (except, perhaps, for his MGM Christmas effort).  Oh, well...

Oh, and the Merv-showpiece of the group, At Your Command, was penned by Harry Tobias and two former Rhythm Boys members--Bing Crosby and Harry Barris.  The lovely Tell Me melody was based on a mazurka by Xaver Scharwenka.  The "tune" was familiar, but not Xaver.

DOWNLOAD: Let's Dance--Freddy Martin and His Orch., featuring Merv Griffin, 1952

Let's Dance Tonight--Merv with Freddy

Tell Me--Same

Wabash Blues

Serenta--Merv with Freddy

At Your Command--Same

Parade of the Wooden Soldiers

Echoes of Love--Merv and The Martin Men with Freddy

Heavenly Symphony--Merv and the Glee Club with Freddy

Lee

Fourth of July music: "Grand Canyon Suite" (Grofe)--Andre Kostelanetz and His Orch., from 1941

 

Imagine my excitement when I encountered--for the first time, ever--a MONAURAL copy of the 1966 Harmony reissue of the Andre Kostelanetz recording of the Grand Canyon Suite.  Andre's marvelous reading was first released in 1941 in a bulky 12" 78 rpm album, and it stayed in Columbia's catalog for an impressive 25 years.  And I've never quite understood Columbia's insistence on keeping its back catalog current in this fashion, since this meant--in the case of Kostelanetz, at least--the release of old material alongside the latest high-fidelity examples.  If the goal was to publicize the latest in sound reproduction, that was no way to do it.

Anyway, for a 1941 recording, the sound is nothing short of fabulous.  And why the Grand Canyon Suite for the Fourth?  Two reasons.  1) The work satisfies the trope of "uniquely American," if only because the Grand Canyon resides in Arizona, which is part of the United States.  2) My joy at finally encountering a mono copy of this issue makes it a must to post. ("Must to post"??)  3) I love this piece to death.  Oh, and I broke my vow not to pay $3.99 Goodwill vinyl prices by grabbing this.  I decided it was worth four bucks.  But I'm happy to report that the local GW vinyl doesn't seem to be moving, otherwise.

The history of the suite is available all over cyberspace, so I won't devote space to same.  Though, despite my undying love for this wonderful work, I can't recall if Grofe completed it in 1931 or 1932.  I think it was 1931, but I'm not sure.  Okay--"composed between 1929 and 1931."  I'll assume Wikipedia has its facts straight.  First performed on November 22, 1931.

And it's my guess that, if we stare at any photo of the canyon long enough, we'll eventually spot the likeness of Washington, Lincoln, or Thomas Jefferson.  Drink lots of coffee.

Ferde never wrote anything else to compare with Canyon, though my second-favorite Grofe suite has to be Niagara Falls.  Followed by Valley of the Sun.  And the Mississippi, Death Valley, and Hudson River suites are charming works. Avoid this man's piano concerto and the awful World's Fair and Aviation suites, though his 1938 Trylon and Perisphere (aka, Black Gold) deserves serious attention.  It has Grofe functioning in a Honegger-lite fashion, and superbly.

Oh, and if you come across a fake-stereo copy of this LP, put it back in the row.

Happy Fourth!

DOWNLOAD: Grand Canyon Suite--Andre Kostelanetz and His Orch. (Harmony HL 7395; 1966--orig. recorded in 1941)

Lee

Hit Records filler/B-sides: A fun (and, hopefully, enlightening) survey

 

Wow--Blogger has made things even more of a hassle.  It has added an utterly pointless extra step to uploading images from a PC.  There's some reverse-logic idea that increasing the number of necessary steps is somehow helpful to the user.  After all, the greater the number of options, the better.  In reality, no one wishes to be deluged with choices.  An intelligent scheme would consist of basic options, with advanced choices accessible upon demand.  Options are not options when they are forced upon us.  (Argggh...)

But, to the matter at hand... A visitor suggested a post devoted to the filler/B-side numbers released on Hit Records (a group which included Spar, Country & Western Hits, and Modern Sound), and this struck me as a great idea.  And this project proved to be unusually challenging (I have a MAGIX project printout for transferring the composer creds to mp3tag, along with ten pages of notes), and mostly because Hit Records typically failed to include writer credits on its LP releases (in addition to regularly omitting artist credits--even aliases).  And there was the occasional problem of title disagreement--e.g., "Up Town Down Town" vs. "Uptown, Downtown."  Yet, for all that, Spar/Hit Records operated in an infinitely less slapdash manner than most of the other rack-jobber budgets.  And, as we shall hear, it produced some of its own material (no doubt, for the benefit of direct-to-the-label royalties), and produced it well.  Its filler numbers were clearly rush jobs, but they were never less than professional and beautifully arranged and engineered.  My opinion of Hit Records "filler" has grown much kinder over the years, and my affection for the label's budget hit knockoffs has increased at the same time/rate.  Way back when, I regarded HR product as an amusing record-collecting sideline, with the occasional superb performance entering the picture--such as the "Boll Weevil"'s amazing My Bonnie.  But I've come to host high regard for HR's entire bag of offerings.

But enough intro.  Today's playlist features songs by HR personnel, most of whom were industry insiders.  Some of whom had "real" chart hits.  I decided to leave the composer tags as they appeared on HR/Spar/Country & Western Hits singles, save for shortening "J. Norris and K. Richards" to "Norris-Richards." N-R were actually Hit Records co-founder William Beasley and his wife Dorothy J.  And there was Connie Landers, who wrote and recorded as "Connie Dee" (and who was songwriter-credited at least once as "Connie Sanders"--a typo?).  Her Brill Building-esque Once a Cheater and her amusing heartbreaker ballad, Ring Telephone are first-rate filler.

Back to the Beasleys, their forte was in the area of country and western, and they wrote at least one successful number for Brenda Lee.  Their The Spirit of This Land was the very first HR single which had me wondering, "Was this an actual hit?"  No, it's a very skillful imitation of a type of conservative patriotic paean--expertly stilted, with a narrator who sounds ready to break into laughter.  Like the instrumental Tower Suite (also by JN and KR), which appeared in single form as the flip of Theme From Peyton Place, it was penned to function as a B-side complement to the hit number, and in that context, it's a gem.  Of the country numbers written on the spot by the Beasleys, I have to choose Broken Hearted, Sad and Blue as the winner, if only because of its bounce-the-stylus energy.  Their best number in this list, though, may be I'm So Lonely, an effort which channels British Invasion rock, Gene Pitney, and Neil Diamond.  

There are only (let's see) three Bobby Russell numbers--all good, with Big Windy City impressing me the most, despite the naïve and generic quality of its lyrics.  It certainly conveys the appropriate mood, and the Bacharach-esque hook is delightful and superbly ear-catching.  It hardly rises to the level of Goffin/King, but then there wasn't the necessary window of opportunity.

I have a special affection for Bergen White's efforts--in part, because of some ingenious turns of phrase.  For example, the payoff close to Another Year, the ultimate life-gone-wrong country saga.  And his hilarious, Roger Miller-esque Pay It No Mind takes Miller's sardonic-commentary style to the level of harsh mockery, with the singer/narrator delighting in the misfortunes of the protagonist, who can't so much as get out of bed without dooming his day.  Bergen's You're the Only Girl for Me is an interesting take on the Four Seasons/Jan and Dean sound, and You Make The Decisions is minimalist gold.  Back to Bobby Russell, the masterful Come On On may be the all-time best could-have-been-a-hit filler HR track.  It's astonishing that so much care was devoted to a "Let's sneak in one of our own" project.

Brilliance in context is nevertheless brilliance.  (And you may quote me.)  Coughing up acceptable filler material on short notice is an epic challenge, and the HR folks routinely met it with impressive prowess.  Here are twenty-five goodies.

DOWNLOAD: Hit Records Filler

I'm So Lonely (Norris-Richards)--Dee and Robert

You're the Only Girl for Me (Bergen White)--The Roamers

Come Back to Me (N-R)--William Randolph and His Orchestra

I'm on My Way (N-R)--Jack White

Come On On (Bobby Russell)--Dee and Robert

Broken Hearted, Sad and Blue (J. Norris)--Ed Hardin

Pardon My Living (B. White)--Bob Adams

You're Not the Same Now (B. White)--Fred Hess

Never Forget Me (B. White)--The Roamers

Another Year (B. White)--Bergen White

Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater (Connie Sanders)--Connie Dee
Pay It No Mind (Bergen White)--Fred York

A Broken Hearted Fool Like Me (N-R)--Fred York

Where You Been (Bobby Russell)--Charles Baker

Don't Come Too Late (N-R)--Bobby Russell

You Can't Trust a Friend (B. White)--Lisa French

Big Windy City (Bergen White & Bobby Russell)--Fred Hess

Hearts Are Funny Things (N-R)--Bobby Brooks

Ring Telephone (Connie Landers)--Connie Dee

That's All That's Important Now (N-R)--Ed Hardin

The Spirit of This Land (N-R)--Charlie Rogers

Uptown, Downtown (B. Russell)--Fred York

You Make the Decisions (Bergen White)--The Chellows

You Were Gone (B. Russell)--John Preston

Tower Suite (N-R)--William Randolph and the Music City Orch.

Lee

Who among us doesn't dig "That West Coast Sound"? (Modern Sound 561; 1966)

 

You have a choice: I Love that West Coast Sound, by The Jalopy Five or That West Coast Sound, by The Jalopy Five.  That is, you can go by the front jacket or the back.  And, of course, some of these are not by the Jalopy Five (a Hit Records alias, anyway), which means I'll have to track down the original artists and dates by referring to the Hit Records singles.  Easily accomplished with 45cat and Discogs.

And, good grief, Blogger must be on its last legs.  It took me several minutes to get those two images in their proper place AND properly enlarged.  Blogger simply doesn't want to cooperate.  Oh, and I'd initially inserted the cover and label images, in that order.  And Blogger displayed them in reverse order.  Of course.  And, in other news, I've taken to snapping "live" label shots, since my new Epson printer has, at best, a one-centimeter depth of field.  If I want in-focus images, I have to go the Canon route.  But I shall spare no effort to get these fake sounds to you.  For real.  That is my (more or less) sacred pledge.

The liner notes discuss "The British Sound," "The Detroit Sound," and "The Nashville Sound," noting in delightfully redundant fashion that "each is distinctive within itself."  That's like calling something "unique in its singular way."  Anyway, in case you weren't paying attention, this LP features "that" West Coast sound, and my first response was, "Cute blonde."  My second response was, "Hit Records never did a good job with the California sound."  And, as a rule, it did not--Its Beach Boys knockoffs are typically lacking.  But here we have some actually decent imitations of Jan and Dean, the B. Boys, and the Mama's and the Papa's, as the latter (for some reason) called themselves.

Did producer (and California Street cowriter) William Beasley say, "Let's assemble our more passable efforts in this area"?  Was that premeditated, or is the track selection just a lucky accident?  Whichever the case, Sloop John B is a totally acceptable copy of the Beach Boys hit, Surfer Girl (even though it changes the melody in spots!) features unusually tight Hit Records harmonies, and Ride the Wild Surf beautifully captures the Jan and Dean sound.  I'm impressed.  California Girl(s), on the other hand, falls in the middle range of okay.  It's hardly the worst budget Beach Boys copy, but the famously awful Pickwick effort, The Surfsiders Sing the Beach Boys Songbook (1965), set the budget-knockoff bar at a record low!  (An LP best experienced with a licensed therapist on hand.)

The filler tracks are fun--California Street in particular (cowritten by producer William Beasley as "Richards").  And Bergen White's She's Come of Age has more than a slight touch of Brian Wilson, meaning that Bergen, as usual, took his pen-a-flip-side-as-quickly-as-possible job seriously.  I really should devote a post sometime to Hit Records filler numbers.

And I took the liberty of correcting California Girl (maybe the cover model is that very girl), though I otherwise retained the credits as displayed.  At least Hit Records' errors were consistent from front to back, and label to cover.  There's a certain integrity, there.

Really, much better than we might expect from a dollar-bin special.  And the engineering, as ever, is gorgeous.  Below I've given the 45 rpm credits and dates, though all the mp3 tags read "The Jalopy Five," and the composer fields are blank--both in concurrence with Modern Sound's layout (or lack thereof).

DOWNLOAD: I Love That West Coast Sound (Modern Sound 561; 1966)

Sloop John B--Jalopy Five, 1966

Monday Monday--Jalopy Five, 1966

California Dreaming--Jalopy Five, 1966

California Girls--The Chellows, 1965

California Street (Dorothy Jean and William Beasley)--Johnny and the Jalopy Five, 1965

Ride the Wild Surf--The Roamers, 1964

Little Old Lady From Pasadena--The Roamers, 1964

Hey Little Cobra--The Roamers, 1964

Surfer Girl--Jalopy Five, 1963

She's Come of Age (B. White)--Bobby Brooks, 1965

Lee