I think regular readers of this blog will agree my musical taste is wide-ranging. But every now and then even I have a hard time grooving with the tunes on a first listen. That’s the case with the Greek music from John Liatsis and his Meraklides Singers and Orchestra.
The album is called Recorded Live at a Greek Party (Volume Four) and I’m thinking that all the really accessible pop tunes were all on Volumes 1-3. That’s not to say they are not fine musicians. And if you could see the album art, there are a couple of hotties belly dancing.
(Sorry, my scanner won’t accommodate an LP cover)
If I haven’t scared you off yet, let’s tell a mini-story through song titles.
Hasapiko (Gypsy Dance)
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Mour Moura (Nagging Wife)
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Vasilim Tama Takiasou (William Your Eyes Are Roving)
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I might be crazy, but I think a couple of these tunes would be good re-interpreted by a Doors cover band or serve as a good loop sample in a Hip-Hop tune. You’re right, I’m crazy.
Update: When I wrote the title of this post, I assumed that Hellenic Hoedown was a new coinage. Turns out there is a composition by that name and it is really cool -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zn5tlEIHeE
One of the perils of buying used albums at thrift stores is that the sleeve of the album might not match the contents of the LP contained within. When you are paying 10¢ for the record, it isn’t really a big deal that somebody pulled the old switcheroo.
That’s what happened to me when I thought I was buying 16 Great Square Dance Tunes by Canada’s Top Fiddlers. I got it home an realized I had 16 songs, performed by Canadians. However, the album is called 16 Great Barn Dance Tunes. If you know the technical difference between a Square Dance and a Barn Dance, please do share in the comments section.
Since I’ve been sharing Polish polkas with you, I suppose this is a good time to mention that Irish and Scots also enjoy polkas. Since their music heavily influences Canadian culture, it is not surprising that a barn dance album from Canada would include the Canal Street Polka by the Rodgers Brothers.
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Joe Murphy performs the Liberty Two Step (two steps are not the exclusive province of Texas, you know)
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Let’s hear a reel from Joe MacIsaac – since we are talking about Canada, the Snowshoer’s Reel is appropriate.
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I posted Hang On Sloopy in the polka style earlier. It was from an album of what at the time were modern popular tunes filtered through a polka lens. Larry Chesky and his Orchestra were responsible for that, for better or worse.
But Larry Chesky can also bring it old school Polish polka style. Tonight’s album has Larry and his crew backing Regina Kujawa on Hello Lalka. She toured the Midwest with the Orchestra and they cut the album Hello Lalka right afterwords.
Most of the album is what I must assume are traditional Polish tunes. I know virtually nothing about Polish heritage and culture. I liked Karol Woltya a lot. I admire their bravery in WWII. Polish sausage is good, too.
I need to learn more, I suppose. My children have Polish blood by virtue of Joyce’s grandmother. But for now, let’s polka.
Here is the title track Hello Lalka. To be honest, I think it needs Louis Armstrong’s help.
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Here is the Pretty Girl (Piekna Dziewczyna) Polka
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And let’s end with the Mary Had a Little Lamb (Marysa Baranek) Polka. Because it doesn’t get much more old school than a lamb that follows a girl to school one day.
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Part of the fun of my record collection is that I’m amused by songs that were made popular in one style, but were recorded in another style. Often the song is a chart topper, and the other artists seem to riding on the coattails.
I remember when I was in grade school, each class would perform some song or dance in an all-school program once or twice a year. Not many stand out. One that do recall was when I was in first or second grade the eighth-graders performed Age of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In. I don’t know what kind of groovy mind blowing psychedelia they must of dropped on us. But it did make an impression.
I don’t think it sounded like Larry Chesky and his Orchestra. But this brings me back to a Catholic grade school auditorium in the early 70′s. I’m dragging you with me.
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My LP digitization project continues. After I posted a link to Hawaiian style organ music, some of my friends inquired about the availability of polka music. I have polka music. This album is part of my collection due to the extreme generosity of my eldest brother. He happened upon a cache of closeout albums and he knew they would make a wonderful gift. Thank you, Joe.
These selections are from Super Hits Dance Party by Larry Chesky and his Orchestra. No copyright is evident on the album sleeve. Based on the tracks I’d put it at about a 1973 release date.
I’ll quote the album notes:
If you want a really good time, all you need is the desire…and this album! …
The music of today is what today’s young people understand. And the timeless polka beat is what everybody understands. So Larry puts them both together in an exciting musical package.
This version of Hang On Sloopy isn’t really a full-on polka. But it is delightful none-the-less. Don’t you agree?
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If you are looking for a more full-flavored polka interpretation of a hit in another genre, you are in luck. Like country music? Like polka music? You will like this polka version of Gentle On My Mind.
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Glenn Campbellski couldn’t do it better.
My random grab into the big record bin produced Hawaiian Magic by Ken Griffin. This is a Columbia release from 1958. Another one of my thrift store finds, I’m virtually certain that I picked it up because it has a version of Harbor Lights, which my parents called “our song”.
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What struck me most as I listened to this album was how strongly I associate organ music with roller rinks and carousels. At least Wurlitzer style organs. Pipe organs are associated with church, of course.
I’m guessing I’m among the last generation to remember skating to the sounds of this type of organ music. Walton’s Roller Rink in Mentor-on-the-Lake still played it when I was very young. Most folks my age probably remember better the disco and rock with neon lights and feathered hair at United Skates of America.
These days the only place you hear organ music is at carnivals or amusement parks that have a merry-go-round. So grab some cotton candy or lace up your skates and enjoy some Island Magic.
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The album I pulled from my big record bin today was released in 1980 and is called A Salute to John Lennon and the Beatles Greatest Hits. It is performed by the Now Sound Orchestra.
The back cover has John Lennon (1940 – 1980) with pictures of the man at various stages of his career. (Actually I’m not even sure they are all Lennon. There is a young boy that looks more like George Harrison or even Elvis). I’m wondering if this is less a salute than an attempt to cash in on Lennon’s tragic death.
Lennon was murdered on December 8, 1980. To record and release an album in less than three weeks seems unusual. I’m speculating that the album was already recorded and released as a Beatles Greatest Hits album with different cover art and was just updated and rushed to market as a “Salute to John Lennon”.
The performances on the album are basically dreadful. I’m sampling Yesterday for you. Partially because it is an instrumental and I don’t feel right about subjecting you to any of the vocals. You can play a game of “name the instrument.” There is either a harpsichord or perhaps a synthesizer or syn-clavier. I also detect a vibraphone. I can’t tell if the horn is a muted trumpet or a flugelhorn. Your guesses are welcome in the comments.
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Yes, I do like to pick up odd albums at the thrift store. And even though digitizing them is a bigger hassle than the software promised it would be, I was able to get a few more tracks captured this evening.
For your listening enjoyment and edification we’ve selected a couple of tracks from an unusual various artist album. This is not just an odd collection of hits. No, this is a demonstration record produced to accompany Admiral stereophonic devices. It is on the Decca label and consists of music by artists released by Decca.
First the announcer man will explain to you that there is a right channel, a left channel, and a PHANTOM 3rd Channel!!!!!
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Sorry to cut you off, announcer man. I had no idea you were about to present several more aural examples of how you can hear things from your left channel, right channel and PHANTOM 3rd CHANNEL!!!!
Soon enough the tunes begin…a sampling of what I presume were popular artists and music of the day.
The featured selection tonight is Trumpet Cha Cha Cha by Warren Covington and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Amazon says this track was from an album released in 1958. It was re-issued in 2010 as a CD. But is it in PHANTOM 3rd CHANNEL SOUND?
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Bonus Track – It is an instrumental from Bill Haley And His Comets called Joey’s Song.
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Well. Autumn is now officially here, I really don’t care what the calendar says or if it is meteorological autumn. I know that Fall has arrived because tomorrow is school picture day.
James (our kindergartner) decided today that he would like to wear a bow tie for his picture. I loved the idea. However, we have no bow ties in the house, particularly in his size that would match his shirt. Also, we’d run the risk that he would come home crying tomorrow because the other kids might be unaccustomed to a handsome young man wearing a bow tie.
If faced with a five-year-old coming home from school in tears, I promise you I will not tell him “It’s only because they are jealous.” You see, that was my mother’s usual reply after I had a rough day in grade school. She may have actually felt that this was the root cause of kids being mean. I’ve always tended to notice that some kids just tend to be mean. One could argue that they are simply enjoying some popularity among their peers at a young age and that by the time they reach adulthood the world will be wise to them. But then we all know adults that really aren’t “over themselves” just yet.
So my hope for James is that he smiles that handsome huge grin of his and enjoys a good day. The photo above is your author in second grade. It would have been better with a bow tie.
Given the furor over the recently revealed video of Christine O’Donnell saying she dabbled in the occult, I’d like to publicly denounce my private claim that I was a warlock.
I understand how things can be misunderstood when taken out of context. I did indeed say, in my younger days, “I am a warlock.” By younger days, I do mean last week. However, it was only because I was asked how I conjured up a butterfly from the ether.
Let me be perfectly clear. I did not conjure the butterfly. They are known to flit about quickly and the butterfly in question only appeared to have arrived magically. Therefore, my pronouncement that I was a warlock was in jest.
And speaking of things in jest. Check out this bizarre twitter hashtag meme.
