1961’s Ping Pong Percussion by Chuck Sagle and His Orchestra is branded as a jazzy, Space Age Pop-like competitor to the famed Persuasive Percussion series. I’ve found it to be a bit too dixieland, and less percussion-savvy as the glowing cover suggests. Still not a bad listen for $4, just two pennies over the original retail price.
Tag Archives: Epic Records
Don’t Bogart that Tape, My Friend
Released in 1966, or so I’m told, The Yardbirds Greatest Hits captures many of the band’s early British Invasion, blues rock chart toppers into one, neat, cohesive package. But we’re not focusing on this Epic Records release today for its global importance, but instead, for its previous owner’s lamenting admiration for the band.
As can be clearly seen from the five, strategically placed abnormalities on the back cover, this record’s original owner had this, and likely other albums displayed on a wall somewhere, likely in some dingy, smoke-soaked den of excess and euphoria (I like to think somewhere off the Fox River in rural Wisconsin). Five individually places strips of tape were all that was needed to hoist up this audio treasure, which was likely a decent conversation starter for 1966 hoods to drop out and over analyze over. Don’t Bogart that tape, my friend!
Demonstration – Not For Sale
Remember when Best Buy (the slowly dying, North American electronics conglomerate) gave away 7” records? I have more than a few “promotional giveaways” from my short-lived DVD and CD collecting days of the late 90s and early 2000s, a few of them acquired by the big, yellow and blue super-store (an Intergalactic “jukebox only” 45 by the Beastie Boys, and a white vinyl copy of Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) Live by Pink Floyd).
Now, my memory could very well be rewriting history here, but I distinctly remember buying RATM’s The Battle of Los Angeles (on CD), and getting with it this transparent red No Shelter 7”. I remember thinking how odd and out of place it was for Best Buy to even have records, let alone be giving them away, a sensation all but lost just recently upon the realization that certain Best Buys now carry severely overpriced vinyl reissues. I should be happy that the vinyl-collecting community is large enough for Best Buy to take notice, I suppose, and even though my Best Buy shopping days are almost completely exclusive to gifted gift cards, it’s comforting to remember a distinctive era in music collecting history (regardless of how individual and / or particular to me).
Santa Was Here… But Did He Remember to Open the Flue?
Little Suzy Worries A Lot is concerned. Not because she constantly trips on her obviously oversized sleeping gown-thing, but because Santa may have forgotten open the flue. Dancing in little Suzy’s head aren’t just images of sugar plums, but also the vision of her beloved family laying lifeless under the candy cane-like Christmas tree from carbon monoxide poisoning. Little Suzy has reason for concern, so she spent her entire Christmas morning on the floor checking the flue. “Where’s Suzy?” “Oh, she’s checking the flue.” “Again?!”
The Somerset Strings do a marvelous job of capturing vintage Christmas on this 6-track 10” from the 1950s. All the classics are here, from Jingle Bells to The First Nowell (I always thought it was NOEL as in, no Ls allowed… or a_ _owed). Acquired, obviously, for its fascinating cover, Santa Was Here is a welcoming addition to the Christmas section of my library, and would make for a decent, albeit short, listen for anyone seeking out that vintage Christmas sound.
Don’t worry about little Suzy. She survived that Christmas, and went on to achieve great and magnificent things in the further development of fireplace safety.
Album Review: The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough by Cyndi Lauper
Side A
I hardly ever listen to my 45s. I find the entire process to be way too laborious, especially now that I’m well into my 2nd 20’s. (It goes 20’s, 2nd 20’s then 40’s, right?)
Anyway, I used to listen to 45s, so I’ve accumulated my fair share, but never really think to dig through them, because well, I’m lazy. So, in preparation for today’s post I was delighted to see what I’d completely forgotten I’d had. This was ALMOST a post about a kids read-along called, Pac-Man Run for Fun, but I didn’t have time to read the whole book for research. Yes, I know it’s a kid’s book and yes, I know I can follow along with the record, but I don’t have that kind of time! It’s Saturday, k’mon!
So with Pac-Man quietly sitting in the “future post” pile, I merrily give you, Cyndi Lauper’s The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough. Well, I’m not GIVING it to you, but I’ll briefly and half-assidly talk about it. (Half-assidly is a word, right?) Well, I’ll let my fingers talk about it. I doubt you’d be able to hear me wherever you may be right now. My fingers won’t ACTUALLY be talking… more like communicating… a stubby cry for help if you will. (What you must be thinking right now.)
I LOVE THIS COVER! It’s so stupid! I will say, however, Cyndi Lauper gives an amazingly convincing scared face… if you’re like, 3-years-old and like, have never actually been scared in your life. But it’s THE GOONIES, so I let it go.
The song is the smash-bang hit single from the film that appears around the time the kids bike to the lighthouse/restaurant, if I recall. They probably play it at the end credits as well, but I haven’t seen The Goonies in a while, so yeah, I could very well be incorrect in that statement.
Released in 1985, The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough perfectly packages all of one’s favorite memories from the film by offering that oh-so-recognizable 80’s drum-machine-laden production value that either you love, or you despise with all your soul and hope will die a slow and painful death. I don’t mind it.
On a side note, I don’t think the word “Goonies” is ever spoken in the entire song, which leads me to believe this song originally had absolutely NOTHING to do with the film.
Side B
I’ve never heard this song before. It certainly wasn’t in the film, but I understand Portrait Records (the now defunct sister company of Epic Records) needed a B-Side, so we get What a Thrill. It’s actually not that bad. It sounds NOTHING like what I’m now calling just, Good Enough. What a Thrill is a straight-forward mid-80’s hard rocker. I bet Ol’ Miss Lauper considered this Punk (I have no evidence of this claim).
An interesting accompaniment to Good Enough, I can actually see myself listening to What a Thrill like, in my car… driving to the grocery store for like, raisins.
These go for pretty damn cheap on discogs, so if you’re in the mood for The Goonies theme coupled with a decent hard-rocker, and you’re not too lazy to play 45s, this single comes recommended.
The Prudent Groove 