First, the ten-inch. Now, the twelve-inch: The Monarchs of Melody--All My Love (1958)

This is the complete version, so to speak, of this LP.  Same jacket, only two inches  one inch wider (thanks, Diane) on all four sides.  For reasons that defy logic, we get six additional tracks on this, the twelve-inch version.  Twice the content.  But that only makes sense if the other disc was... well, a six-incher.  Otherwise, why should there be 200 percent more music?  Was Waldorf trying to wean its customers off of the ten-inch format?  Ah, but the great Both Sides Now has the answer--Waldorfs ten-inchers were 99 cents and the twelve-inchers were $1.98. Now I see.  The customer got what he or she paid for.  You want twice the content, cough up another 98 cents.  Life is cruel.

With that mystery solved, let me just say this was one of the coolest thrift finds of recent months.  I think it was a St. Vincent de Paul thrift find, and it would have been a perfect one, save for the last track on Side 2, where someone obviously lost control of the tone arm (the gouge goes in an arc across the label, though I removed all traces when I fixed the image).  So I had to do a lot of precise de-clicking by hand.  If you hear tiny drop-outs on Pardon Me, Pretty Baby, that's why.  Listening to the tiny drop-outs is way better than listening to the loud pops--trust me.  Other than that, an easy rip.

As before, the superb musicians are Richard Lawrence "at the inspiring Hammond organ," accordionists Dominic Cortese and Nick Perito, guitarist Don Arnone (I'm copying the notes), and bassist Sandy Bloch, "...all for the express purpose of creating musical sounds to suit the varied moods of love." In case you wondered why they're doing this.

Today's Worst Sentence in the World award goes to "These are the varied moods that together give us a feeling of tenderness played especially for you with taste and understanding by this talented new group of outstanding musicians."  Maybe some kind of primitive translation software existed in 1958, and Waldorf was trying it on notes written in Icelandic.  That's my best guess.  Anyway, someone back in the day sprung for the extra 98 cents, and they took excellent care of their acquisition (hey, anyone can lose control of the tonearm--I do it all the time, but luckily with a modern machine), and so we have this gem to listen to and love.  To love in all the varied moods of tender feelings of romance brought to us especially for the purpose of bringing together music in a way that ensures the best in, um... er....  Yeah.  To the music....










DOWNLOAD--All My Love--The Monarchs of Melody





I Surrender Dear
Ting-A-Ling
I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You
When My Sugar Walks Down the Street
Don't Worry 'Bout Me
Sweet Lorraine
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
Ill Wind
All My Love
Emaline
Lonesome and Sorry
Pardon Me, Pretty Baby

All My Love--The Monarchs of Melody (Waldorf Music Hall MHK 33-1241; 1958)


Lee