You know that feeling when you thrift a Palace LP with an unusually classy cover, and the credits read "JACQUES DARIEUX and his orchestra," and so you're sure you've made a cool find of the obscure-easy-listening variety, and you're especially intrigued by the "Featured on TV's '77 Sunset Strip'" blurb, and then you put the mint-looking vinyl on the turntable and discover that 1) the pressing is packed with imperfections and 2) the tracks contain, not soothing massed strings of the Percy Faith variety, but the sounds of a Latin-style jazz combo? Don't you hate it when that happens?
At least the actual artists, Frankie Ortega With Rhythm (listed on the labels and mentioned in the liner notes), are at the top of their game, with pianism on an almost-Page Cavanaugh level. And, in fact, these were the guys who appeared on 77 Sunset Strip, not Darieux (Sorry, Jacques). So, it's not the music I expected, but it's music I think I will grow to like a lot, once I've recovered from my sense of betrayal. I'd describe the genre as George-Shearing-Meets-Carmen-Cavallaro.
And why the deceptive cover art (which nearly smacks of a legit label) and the "Jacques Darieux"? But, then, there is rarely any "why" in the realm of rack-jobber-LP packaging traditions. For all we know, it was an honest error. ("Hey, we just ran 500 jackets with the wrong name."--Palace employee. "So? Keep going."--Palace boss.)
And I didn't mention possibly the biggest howler of all: A "list price" of $4.98. Really? At the time, $4.98 was the top-end retail tab for legit releases, and this relic likely first experienced its display life in a dollar bin. But if you're going to lie about the featured artists, why not pretend your product is a top-$$ item? Once on a fibbing spree, just keep going--even if your trousers combust.
My favorites are the swinging Malaguena and the Rock-a-Bye Mambo, with its ingenious theme variants. Also, a terrific, beautifully condensed Slaughter on Tenth Avenue--maybe the highlight of the set. The rest of the numbers are standard standards (the best kind), save for Ortega's own My Summer Mood. Or, as listed on the back jacket, My Summer Mood and Others. Apparently, even at $4.98, Palace couldn't fit in all twelve titles.
A number of small "bumps" remain in the rip, since I'd have been another week eliminating each and every one. Oh, and as a Ferrante and Teicher mega-fan, I greatly appreciate the strummed soundboard strings at the start of Spring Is Here and elsewhere. "A sense of discovery along with a feeling of freshness," promise the liner notes. Including the discovery that this LP is not by Jacques Darieux.
DOWNLOAD: Cocktails for Two--Jacques Darieux and His Orch. (Frankie Ortega With Rhythm)
After You've Gone
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
Summer Mood (Ortega)
Crazy Rhythm
My One and Only Love
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Malaguena
All the Things You Are
Rock-a-Bye Mambo (Ortega)
Summer Is Gone
Spring Is Here
If You Were Only Mine
(Cocktails for Two--Palace PST-623, in "Living Sound" stereo)
Lee
15 comments:
I have been going through my Page Cavanaugh records (post coming up, although not soon), and comparing Jacques/Frankie to him is quite a recommendation.
Could one reason you like these records so much be that you are fascinated by their sloppiness and chutzpah?
Buster,
You know, that could very much a part of their appeal! And, yes, Page is a very tough act to follow, but this pianist has a lot of chops, if not quite Cavanaugh's genius for pure swing.
I myself own this one! And found it equally astonishing. Especially since "77 Sunset Strip" is currently airing on MeTV+ (in prime time, whatartheythinkin?). But I almost fell off my chair with this line from you -- "even if your trousers combust." Keep 'em coming, please!
Diane,
I'll do my best. Thanks for the nice words--and I wish my satellite lineup included MeTV/MeTV+.
IIRC, Frankie Ortega did a few albums before or around the time of 77 Sunset Strip. I've picked up a couple of them over the years, and I'd bet this one is either one of those that came out elsewhere, or something else he recorded before his TV fame. Thanks, Lee!
Ernie,
Yes, Discogs says he recorded for Jubilee, Warner Bros., and Imperial. I might link to my post at Brand "X" Records--someone might know the source of these recordings. Possibly some expired label, with Palace/Masterseal cashing in on Ortega's TV celebrity.
I had done a quick Ortega search at Discogs, but failed to click on his trio link, which is the honey hole listing...
Ernie,
And, every time I type a comment, I get an error message from Blogger--"Oops! Something went wrong." Meanwhile, my comment has posted with no problem. Interesting glitch.
Watching a documentary on Elton John and it seems that he was the uncredited pianist on several supermarket hit cover records in England. I wonder if this is included in whatever discography there is of Elton John.
First off, the cover sure looks like a legit A-list cover--it could have been used by RCA as the follow-up to Henri Rene's Music For Bachelors (Featuring Jayne Mansfield on the cover) or for a great lost Three Suns album.
The transfers sound pretty good. It is on the opening track of the album that we get cheap vinyl hiss along the lines of the worst of Crown Records, plus the Premier Records pressings from the Coronet and Spin-O-Rama labels. For the most part, you did your best to make them sound presentable.
Despite the mess, this is one of the few Palace Record albums that might get a place in my collection if I ever find one. "My One and Only Love" is in the Frankie Carle style, "After You've Gone" is a real standout track in the lot--it is a unique arrangement of the Pop standard, with the Latin percussion taking the song to a whole new level. "All the Things You Are" begins in Liberace/Roger Williams territory before the Latin percussion comes in and briefly turns the song into a Peter Nero cut! Really good unique interpretation. Another great one in the Nero style is "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm", which you should put into consideration later this year if you do a random Christmas song blog in December.
Is that an autoharp I hear in the beginning of "Spring Is Here"? It's a good, nice Easy Listening take of this Rodgers and Hart-penned classic. Good piano playing here. Kind of like Carmen Cavallaro-meets prepared-piano era Ferrante and Teicher-meets Peter Nero. Kind of adds a unique Jazz/Rock element to the piece.
A truly unique element of this album is that halfway through the tunes, the tempo changes to a more lively Latin mid-tempo Pop sound after starting out in a standard Easy Listening style.
"Maleguna" is almost a direct foreshadowing of the kind of mid-tempo Pop sound Liberace would create on his Dot album New Sounds.
Okay, so it may not be lush Easy Listening orchestral music along the lines of Mantovani, but it is a cut above most albums of this type. It's lively, energetic, and different in a good way, with "After You've Gone" and "Rock-A-Bye Mambo" being two excellent selections. By far one of the better Palace albums I have ever listened to. Perfect Five stars from me.
PS: Two years ago, I did pick up for a dollar at a used record store a pristine copy of "Kookie Kookie Lend Me Your Comb", complete with picture sleeve, to replace a beat-up copy I found at a rummage sale in late October of 1995!
Eric,
I found this at Discogs: https://www.discogs.com/release/3110090-Unknown-Artist-In-The-Summertime
I own it, plus two other Avenue EPs I bought back when across-the-pond postage rates were still sane. I was under the impression that John actually sings the Beach Boys cover, "Cottonfields." I'll have to re-listen to this (if I can find the 45 box I put it in).
There was at least one CD reissue of John's sound-alike efforts. I've never been a fan of his style, but I appreciate his considerable talent. And he proved himself to be a terrific comic actor when he guested on SNL.
musicman1979,
Quite a deal ("Kookie Kookie")! A buck for the record and pic sleeve--wow. And I'm just now learning that Bryne's Kookie character was originally a hitman!
I've only seen Edd in a couple of big screen titles, including a Spaghetti Western with Guy Madison. Anyway... Yes, the tempo shifts are incredibly effective. And I think the autoharp sound is something being dragged across the strings on the piano soundboard. F&T used it a lot. I think they even used the effect in reverse (in "tape music" fashion).
And yes, this is WAY above the Palace norm. I'm going to link to my post at the Brand "X" page and see if any of the experts know where these tracks (almost definitely pre-Jubilee and -Warner Bros.) originated. As for the hiss, I considered digital hiss filtering, but it took too much life out of the audio. Better to keep the noise AND the music. I was thinking the same thing re "I've Got My Love..."--ideal holiday fare. And, ten or so years earlier than Ortega, Freddy Martin (with Jack Fina?) did the same double-time routine with "After You've Gone," but in less legit jazz style.
Great bunch of Brand X Record finds! The Gene Pitney album was actually reissued on CD in the UK a few years ago. Design re-used "Cradle in My Arms" on the Hullaballoo! album (Which Wade Settle posted a few weeks ago), while "Please Come Back Baby" was also used on "Where the Action Is" (which both Wade and John Charles Thomas posted on Brand X within a few months of each other.)
I grew up with the Where the Action Is! album, and it was one of my first introductions to 1960's Pop-Rock. Also "Wanted, One Girl" from Jan and Dean is on Where the Action Is! and on your new Jan & Dean album. It was one of the actual few legimate "hits" included on that collection. It's highest ranking was #104 on Billboard, while it tanked over at Cashbox at #130.I am actually still looking to add that LP to my Jan and Dean collection.
BTW, the "Newcastle Trio" Kingston Trio-styled cuts were actually an early version of Tompall and the Glaser brothers.
Thanks! And some gave me the same info on the Newcastle Trio on FB. I'm tempted to intuitively conclude that there was no rhyme or reason to the track-juggling of Pickwick or any of the other cheapo groups. These outfits didn't have the time or budget to formally plan any strategy beyond testing the dollar-bin market to see how many times it's possible to re-re-resell Johnny Kay Xmas material.
Thanks for posting this album. I really enjoy the style of the arrangements.
Sorry if I missed this in the previous posts, but I found this at Discogs. Appears to be the same album to me.
https://www.discogs.com/master/1330444-Frank-Ortega-Twilight-Time
Thanks again for all you do! I've learned so much from you through the years and been able to enjoy some great music at the same time.
Logan,
Thanks for the nice words, and somehow I didn't notice that Ortega LP! Yes, it appears to be exactly the same. Now, the mystery is why Palace felt the need to reassign the artist! (And in such a careless fashion.)
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