I love me some groovy world music, but not until today was I aware that the New Zealand national Film Unit produced a video to accompany this snapshot album. If you find yourself with a free 13+ minutes, head on over to the link for a brief history of the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand, also known as the Māori.
Category Archives: 1964
Bitter Beers
So, Netflix has a new documentary out featuring the late, great Johnny Cash titled, Tricky Dick & the Man in Black (episode 2 of season 1 of the Remastered series, a Netflix original, or so they tell me). It’s well worth checking out, even for the casual JC fan. Featured in the doc is a very short mention of the commercially unsuccessful 1964 album, Bitter Tears – Ballads of the American Indian. If you watch the 59 minute episode, you can’t miss it. This copy found its way into the library by means of my grandfather, and like the doc, is well worth the time.
Jimmy Ray
Jimmy Ray Dean held a prolific career as a television personality (The Jimmy Dean Show), a country music star (Big Bad John), and of course, creator and spokesman for the classic Jimmy Dean sausage brand. This album, 1964’s The Songs We All Love Best, was Jimmy’s 11th studio album, and was released on Columbia Records. A little Jimmy goes a long way, but how many other country musicians have their own food line to accompany their music? Not many, I’ll tell you that.
The Best of Jim Reeves
1964 and RCA Victor proudly present, The Best of Jim Reeves. LSP-2890 for you catalog nuts out there, this country music classic from the country music legend, Mr. Jim Reeves, features a stellar 12-track lineup. Adios Amigo, Anna Marie, Four Walls, He’ll Have to Go, Danny Boy, and, what Best of ANYTHING would be complete without Billy Bayou. Though Mr. Reeves met his demise in a fatal plane crash the same year, his legend knows no limits. RIP Mr. Reeves.
The HoneyKinks
Man, ever since finding The Honeycombs’ US debut for $1 at my local b&m, I’ve been obsessed with Have I the Right?. So when I found out that there existed a French, split 7″ with my favorite band (The Kinks), I knew it was only a matter of time. Yesterday, the (relatively) brief hunt subsided, and we’re now the proud owners of this gorgeous split EP. Down side, I’m now on the hunt for other mid-60s French 7″ releases.
Have I the Right?
I know I’ve asked this before, but is a multi-skip record worth $1? I’m of the party that wholeheartedly screams “yes” to this question, especially when said $1 record is The Honeycombs’ debut album, Here are The Honeycombs from 1964. Like many things of the time, this US version houses a different cover and different title (UK / original version simply titled, The Honeycombs), though maintains the same track order as the UK original, which is interesting. Moving on, Have I the Right? was the first and highest charting single by the band, a group that would only release two studio albums throughout their lightning career. Although the popular British songwriting duo Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley are credited as having written Have I the Right? (and they did), it was this riveting pop group led by their talented female drummer that forced the selling of over a million copies. If you’ve forgotten the track, have a listen.
The Third Dimension
Don’t take my word for it (no, please don’t. I’m still wrapping my head around this “astonishing new achievement in stereo recording.”) Ladies and gentlemen, taken straight from the inner sleeve of Enoch Light and the Light Brigade’s 1964 classic, Dimension – 3 – .
Remember when you first discovered stereo recording? Remember the excitement of finding that a single groove on a record could actually carry two separate channels of sound? Remember the revelation that the solid mass of sound which was what you were accustomed to in phonographic reproduction could actually have directional values? And that this sense of direction could also provide a sense of perspective and depth? What a tremendous change this made in the pleasures and excitement that could be provided by a phonograph! Suddenly you were in a completely different world of sound! Remember? You can experience that same sense of discovery again.
Dimension – 3 – is one of the most unusual records that has ever been made. On it you hear for the first time the perfection and an extra dimension in stereo reproduction that engineers have been striving for ever since stereophonic recording was introduced.
Dimension – 3 – the amazing new recording technique revealed on this disc, makes it possible to achieve triple presence in sound reproduction! This means that you actually hear sound coming from three sources – even though you are only using the customary two speakers!
(Truncated… for more on the mysterious and marvelous Dimension – 3 – sound, check your local record retailer, or visit us again at The Prudent Groove.)
Sound Effects Volume 9
Some days, not all days, are good days for sound effects. Functioning more as a stock audio library than a casual dinner party favorite, and in this case, volume 9 of such, Authentic Sound Effects (created and produced by Jac Holzman) is your one-stop shop for the following (but not limited to) exciting, and necessary sounds: Sonar Pings, Helicopter Start Up and Take Off, Hospital Waiting Room, Turnstile, Jet Airliner (Jed & Lina) Interior, Geiger Counter, Sonar Pings, Avalanche, Whip Cracks, and of course, the Good Humor Truck. Tickle your imagination and check out Authentic Sound Effects Volume 9. You never know when that bellowing Building Demolition sound will come in handy.
The Drunken Penguin
Intoxicate your ears with this furry little squirt, The Drunken Penguin. Having been searching for this damn album for longer than I’m willing to admit, I’ve, in the process, acquired a few other ragtime, saloon-style piano records from Mr. Fabric, and am a much wiser, and well-rounded man as the result. Bent Fabric… (get to) know him… (get to) love him. This album was my introduction to the greatness that is Bent Fabric, and I implore you all to pour yourselves a heavy, taxi-calling glass.
Invisible Tears
On Invisible Tears, Ray Conniff (and the Singers) offered their laid back, pop-jazz renditions of popular tunes of the 1964 era. With tracks like, I Walk the Line, Waitin’ for the Evening Train, and yes, you guessed it, Invisible Tears, your evening of quiet, unassuming dining room waltzes is only an invisible tear away.
Less Than 38
With the soundtrack of my favorite film, and the most recent Paul Simon album following shortly thereafter, my loving fiancé offered the best possible birthday cake, in the wholesome form of grain pistachios. (Wing Attack Plan R)
Introducing…
Happy 2016! Introducing… the latest addition to the collection, Introducing…, an original copy owned by my SO’s mother, gifted to me this holiday season. England’s No. 1 Vocal Group just found a welcoming, and respectful home. Dear neighbors, this is your soundtrack tomorrow morning. You’re welcome.
Hello, Dolly!
This 1964 Kapp Records release of Satchmo’s Hello, Dolly! was more of a happenstance release, capitalizing on the Kapp Records success of Louis’ #1 hit single of the same name. Some sources say that Armstrong’s Hello, Dolly! knocked The Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love from the number one spot, but my sources may be inaccurate. 12 tracks of unmistakable Louis Armstrong trumpet bliss, Hello, Dolly! features Dixieland jazz renditions of Blueberry Hill, Jeepers Creepers, and A Kiss to Build a Dream On. Some days call for the subtle, honest brilliance of Louis Armstrong, and today is one of those days.
Boots
The latest thrift store excavation yielding nothing, let’s say, groundbreaking, but the PG was willing and eager to bring home this pristine 1964 Boots Randolph LP, The Yakin’ Sax Man, the, you know, quote, unquote jazz / easy listening LP. Have yet to listen to it (that sometimes happens), but the cover is aces!
The Best of Peter Sellers
This album is a little more than a little misleading, as everyone clearly knows that the best of Peter Sellers is the 1964 masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. This 1960, 11-track record is decent for tickling your chuckle-button, and although Mr. Sellers is renound the world over for his acclaimed genius-like tendencies, it doesn’t get any better than Sellers’ (as United States President Merkin Muffley) call to the Soviet Premier Dmitri Kissoff. Check it out.
The Prudent Groove 