Echoes Of Budapest - George Feyer

George Feyer
Echoes Of Budapest
Vox VX 25.450
1955

Wonderful cover on this vintage album. George Feyer made a good number of "Echoes" recordings. This is folk music seasoned with a touch of pop. It is also interesting to note that, although there are track titles on the back cover, the recording was made in such a way that all songs blend together creating a nice fluid mood or vibe.

George Feyer
Echoes Of Hollywood
Vox VX 25.400
1956

Once again, here's a great vintage cover gracing another album in the "Echoes" series. A nice recording with "tracks" but no separation on the disc. All the tunes blend together.

Music For Dining

September Song

Moods In Music
Music For Dining
The Melachrino Strings And Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1000
1958

RCA offers another great Moods In Music LP with a cool space age cover and odd title. I blogged Music For Reading in another recent post. I found it curious that RCA was attempting to niche market albums as if certain household activities needed specific music to go with them and that you, as consumer, couldn't figure out what would go best with your meatloaf.

Also, I thought what George Melachrino must have felt having his work relegated only to reading or meatloaf consuming.

From the back cover: Perhaps your dinner lacks a few of the courses just mentioned; perhaps it's prepared in a one-room apartment and not in the kitchen at Maxim's. Perhaps the china isn't Wedgewood and the wine hails from California. But whatever the circumstances, Melachino's romantic music will enrich your evening beyond measure.

California wines suck?

Those thoughts aside, once again, Melachrino's music is very lush and mood setting.

Music For Reading

Dream Of Olwen

Mood Music
Music For Reading
The Melachrino Stings And Orchestra
RCA Victor LPM-1002
1958

You know... I don't think that I would read to this music. This is great easy listening on the level of Jackie Gleason. Very lush and mood setting. The LP does set MOODS in Music. I'd rather sit, close my eyes and listen. Even Greensleeves, which is over covered and usually pretty dull, lulls you in. And there is one track, "Dream Of Olwen", that is an upbeat exotica flavored number... who can read while your feet are tapping?

Curious marketing. I wonder how many copies RCA sold with this approach?

This record find was a pleasant surprise.

Riot In Rhythm - Henri Rene

Riot In Rhythm
Henri Rene And His Orchestra
RCA Victor
LPM-2002
1959

Groovy space age cover on this Rene album. The music is also has a nice space age vibe to it and does not take itself to seriously. Hansel And Pretzel is goofy fun. The track, When The Day Is Done, is more laid back and exotica. Some tracks are more big band with "space age" percussion layered on top to help update the song. The track Mangos, on the B side is a quirky space age thing with a cool female vocal  lead in and lead out. Another track titled Blah-Blah-Blah has a male vocal with lyrics that totally makes fun of big band love ballads. Very funny.

I've got Rene's album titled "Passion In Paint" (RCA 1955). The cover is collectible but the music is pretty plain. By the time Rene got around to this project he had loosened up big time. This is a cool album to collect.

Why the designer found it necessary to hyphenate the word "Orchestra" on the cover, I don't know? Some questions may never be answered.

This LP can be found on a CD import titled "Compulsion To Swing In Rhythm".

The Magic Of Hawaii

The Magic Of Hawaii
Sounds Of A Thousand Strings
With The Voices Of Hawaii
Robert Krewson Conducting
Crown Records CLP 5163
1960

Terrific exotica album made magical by the haunting "Voices Of Hawaii". Covers of classics tunes like Beyond The Reef and Hawaiian War Chant.

MP3 downloads are to be found on Amazon.

George Shearing - Concerto For My Love

Concerto For My Love
George Shearing
Capitol Records T1755
1962

Another great Shearing/Capitol jacket and another sweet Shearing recording.

George Shearing - When The Lights Are Low

When Light Are Low
George Shearing Quintet
M-G-M E3264
1955

Lovely Shearing album with surprise vocals on a few tracks by Teddi King.

King is unmentioned on the jacket, but is credited on the label. Her "Wikipedia" story mentions that she toured with Shearing for several years beginning in the summer of 1952. She was only 48 when she passed away in 1977.

Ferrante & Teicher - Album Covers

This is a full color cover, which I assume preceded the monochromatic version below

Soundblast - 1956 This is the stereo release of the mono version of Soundproof as seen below

Soundproof - 1956

Even though the cover image is the same, the mono and stereo Soundproof are two different records featuring different songs.

Ferrante and Teicher With Percussion - 1958

Blast Off! - 1959

Twin Pianos - Stereo

Twin Pianos - Mono

Pianos In Paradise - 1962

The Enchanted World Of Ferrante & Teicher - 1964

Ferrante & Teicher 196?

Star Wars - 1978

On this page, I'll be collecting together Ferrante & Teicher covers that I run across. These are all albums from my collection.

George Shearing - Latin Lace

Latin Lace
George Shearing Quintet
Capitol Records T1082
1958

Another great cover and another great light jazz/easy listening album from Shearing. I think this LP is an exceptionally good Shearing effort. The music still seems fresh and modern today.

George Shearing Album Covers

Velvet Carpet - 1956

Black Satin - 1957

Latin Lace - 1958

Blue Chiffon - 1958

White Satin - 1960

Mood Latino - 1961

Conerto For My Love - 1962

Shearing was known for elegant "cheesecake" covers during a period in his career. As I find examples, I will post them here.

Living Brass

The 3rd Man Theme

Living Brass
Arranged and Conducted by Ray Martin
RCA Camden CAS-949
1966

Very good space age pop brass album on Camden. The cover is foil with overprinting (expensive for a budget label).

Here's a light hearted version of The 3rd Man Theme.

As always, let me know if there is a problem with any post and I'll try to make corrections.

Viva Cugat!

Viva Cugat!
Mercury Records PPS 2003
1961

Excellent space age offering from Xavier Cugat and Mercury sporting a wonderful gatefold jacket designed to compete with the Command label efforts of the day. The engineering is also outstanding. The clarity and depth of recording is really something to hear.

I highly recommend Cugat in general and this album is another one of his outstanding collectible recordings.

Ferrante & Teicher - Pianos In Paradise

Ferrante & Teicher
Pianos In Paradise
Orchestra Conducted By Nick Perito
United Artists Records UAS 6230
1962

Another great easy listening album from Ferrante & Teicher with an exotica flare. African Echoes is on this LP as well as many tracks that are found on earlier F&T albums. Without reviewing, I'm not sure how many are straight re-released songs and or how many Nick Perito had something to do with. Maybe the Perito tracks are also repackaged here?

None-the-less, a nice collection of early F&T for your money!

Go Tell It On The Mountain

The Wings Of A Dove

Go Tell It On The Mountain
Sharon Rinehart
Counterpart Studio
Artist's Recording Co., Cincinnati, Ohio

From the back cover: She has studied private voice for the last four years at Capital University and Bowling Green State University. Sharon has been singing for a total of eight years and has been playing piano for twelve years.

Amongst doing gigs in church, banquets, talent festivals and at the state fair, she "has performed as a singer and dancer for two years in the Mt. Vernon "Dixie" Corporation. I grew up in Mt. Vernon. A small Ohio town and the saw the "Dixie" show when I was a teenager. It was a big deal in a town where very little happened.

Golly I can hardly find a more "local" private press for me then this LP.

The Exciting Pianos Of Ferrante & Teicher

The Exciting Pianos Of Ferrante & Teicher
Pickwick SPC-3003
1962

Not sure what the deal is on this Pickwick release. The record isn't found on any of the online Ferrante & Teicher discographies. I think this album is a re-release of material as Pickwick is a budget label and one track comes from Blast Off (1959).

None-the-less, Pickwick made a nice selection of songs that make for a good listen.

Orchestra Gems

Ritual Fire Dance

Orchestra Gems
Sounds Of 1000 Strings
DynaDisc SCH-821

Obscure budget label Dyna-Disc offers up a vibrant cover on this collection of easy listening tracks by the equally obscure 1000 Strings.

Gypsy Romance Gypsy Fire

A Russian Fantasy

Gypsy Romance Gypsy Fire
Dyna Disc SCH-824

This record is probably a late 50s early 60s release. I can find no information on the Dyna Disc label. I think that there may have been an association with another budget label, Somerset. This record is a grab bag of tunes DynaDisc could find laying around the office including a 101 Strings track (Dark Eyes). Another, much more obscure but very nice track is: A Russian Fantasy by Sania Poustylnicof.

Nice exotica cover image.

Music Of Haiti - Orchestre Citadelle

Choubouloute

Music Of Haiti
Orchestre Citadelle
IBO 106
1960

Rene Diogene Directeur Orchestre Citadelle assisted by composer Luc Mondesir.

Orchestre Citadelle was apparently based in Port-au-Prince.