Sounds... Out Of This World

Up To Jupiter

African Safari Maze

Sounds... Out Of This World
Stereophonic Balance Test Demonstration
Omega OSD-1

Odd blend of tunes and tones... and frequency whatnots... culled from various Omega projects. Fun collectible about 1959(?).

Twist - Fats And The Chessmen

Let's Twist Again

Twist
Fats And The Chessmen
Somerset SF-15100
1962

One of a number of "twist" albums that tried to capitalize on Fats Domino's twist dance craze.

There are some rocking... er... twisting tunes on this album. Funny... Fats And The Chessman sound oddly, in places, like The Ramones. Or visa versa...

Beatle Ballads - The Johnny Mann Singers

She Loves You

Beatle Ballads
The Johnny Mann Singers
Produced by Snuff Garrett
Liberty LST-7391
1964

From the December 5 Billboard: Almost anything with the name Beatles on it is bound to sell these days. The Johnny Mann Singers take the non-frenetic approach to Beatlemania. The well-known tunes are softly and easily performed in an equally easy-to-take tempo. It's more Beatle music for those who don't like the Beatles.

HOLY CRAP! That's the craziest review I've ever read! I've said over and over again while blogging that I've never picked a Liberty album that I didn't like. That statement still stands because this album is so oddball that I can't help but love it!

Grand Slam Hits Of 69 - Sung By The Grand Knights

I Turned You On

Grand Slam Hits Of 69
Sung By The Grand Knights
Premier Albums 1008

Here we have another obscure covers album on a budget label. Thank goodness. Without these covers LPs I'd have to buy the real music and that would be no fun.

The Grand Knights? Really?

A Go Go Discotheque - Busby Lewis' International Discotheque Orchestra

The Frug/Froggy Frug

A Go Go Discotheque

Busby Lewis' International Discotheque Orchestra

Diplomat Records 2371

Budget label, Diplomat, offers up a hot model on the cover of what turns out to be a super fun album! Total 60s groovy light pop, each tune as fine as the one before it.

This is a somewhat obscure album. I couldn't find any information online to explain who Busby Lewis was/is. I think Lewis may have been a made up name and the group is a session band. Although Lewis certainly may have been involved in the session somehow.  The songs seem to have been created by the same group with the exception of three nice light Latin tunes that are completely different in sound and added as filler.

None of this is a surprise coming from a budget label. Note the borrowed chord progression from The Kinks You Really Got Me in the sample

Jungle Beat

Guagunanco - R. Orestes/Afro-Cuban

Dapinian - Traditional/Haitian

Jungle Beat
RKO Records SLP-1005
1959

From March 9, 1959 Billboard: Haitian Subri Moulia, a student of primitive music, and his Equatorial group, do an interesting job on primitive rhythms and chants. Disk includes Haitian, Brazilian and South American chants.

The Billboard artist mention isn't found on the jacket.

The music found on the B side is music that I have heard on a number of "jungle drums" albums released from various labels including Promenade titled Taboo. The music also appears on a Silver Seal pressing as Taboo.  I also believe the recording appears on Pirouette as Congo Percussion.

The music is on both sides is terrific... but side two is a mystery how those tracks seem to have made the rounds in the late 50s.

The Trendsetters Of The 60's - 101 Strings

The Trendsetters Of The 60's

101 Strings
Alshire S-5017

Here's another somewhat fun and obscure 101. All the more interesting tunes can be found online purchase/download. So I will not be posting a sample. Sorry!

Groovy tunes include The Beatles A Hard Day's Night and I Want To Hold Your Hand. 101 also rocks out the Theme From Peter Gunn. That's right... they go all out! The closing track on side two, Discotheque is also totally light 60s fun!

Shay Torrent At The Hammond Organ

Caravan

Shay Torrent At The Hammond Organ
Mercury MG 20415
1959

Nice jacket art for 1959. Peppy organ album featuring excellent engineering.

Apparently Torrent spent much of most of his long career as an organist for The White Sox (at the time he recorded this album) and California Angels.

Feelings At The Movies - Enoch Light And The Light Brigade

You Light Up My Life

Feelings At The Movies
Enoch Light And The Light Brigade
Project 3 PR-5099 SD
1978

This is a curious and somewhat hard to find Enoch Light album. First, I'd thought I never stumble across a Light album featuring a number of DISCO tracks! And second, this album is curious because it doesn't jive with his wiki page info: Light continued recording after the sale of Command with a new label called Project 3, but did not concentrate so heavily on stereo effects. Light recorded several successful big band albums with his earlier established band in the Command days Enoch Light And The Light Brigade, using the original scores, keeping the arrangements as close to the original as possible. He retired from music entirely in 1974 and died four years later (July 31, 1978).

So this album was made after Light "retired entirely from music"?

Tony Mottola and Jeff Hest are credited as associate producers. Jeff Hest is credited for the arrangements.

If you follow my blog you know how much I love Light's work. I mean... I always say glowing things about his stuff. But I have to be honest... this album is really... oh man... not good. But the sample above is so bad, it's good.

Valley Of The Dolls - 101 Strings

To Sir With Love

Valley Of The Dolls And Other Academy Award Hits!
101 Strings
Alshire - S-5097
1968

Here we have a seldom seen 101 featuring a wonderfully provocative cover. A porn set? Don't know, but the image makes for a fun collectible.

Most of the music is just "cheesy" enough to make for a fun listen. And for a 101, there is a lot of brass to be heard on this record.  I'm pretty sure the tracks were compiled from other 101 projects.

Mood Music - The Musical Styles Of Greene And Iles

Misirlou

Mood Music - The Musical Styles Of Greene And Iles
Mercury Records MG 20214
1957

Here's a somewhat obscure album with a wonderfully mysterious cheesecake cover.

From the back cover: Eddie Greene and Stephen Iles have been playing together as a phenomenally successful team ever since (since they met in the dining room of Buffalo's Sheraton Hotel). Their freshness of style, unfailing good taste and extreme fidelity to the highest standards of musicianship have brought them the highest of professional compliments: extended runs – not days, but months at a time – in the toniest of dining and cocktail rooms of the swank Sheraton Hotel chain.

Maybe I should post this album in my blog dedicated to lounge acts? Anyway, this LP really is a fine space age listen. A few tunes, including the sample I posted above, are percussive and suggestive of Korla Pandit's style. They could easily have been exposed to Pandit's work earlier work. All of the songs have subtle touches that help raise the tracks above the standard period organ fare.