Everybody

ought to treat a stranger right

La mentira maldita

Here's a post from Jim C, who has a great story about a record he wants to share:

I just got an album (from a guy on Ebay from Argentina) that I've spent the last quarter century looking for. It's Chico Hamilton Quintet's contributions to the soundtrack from the 1957 movie The Sweet Smell Of Success, starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. If you've ever seen the movie, you'll remember when Chico's group (well, everybody except the guitarist, for whom actor Martin Milner is substituted) is shown on screen playing some very cool jazz in a New York nightclub. I first saw this movie back in the early '80s (it's one of my all time favorites), and I immediately set out to find the soundtrack. Elmer Bernstein does the primary score, which is very brassy big band stuff and pretty terrific itself, but Hamilton's group is comprised of guitar, bass, drums, flute and cello (!), and that instrumentation has a hip, chamber jazz-like quality that steals the show. Most of the tunes are pretty short for post-bop jazz, and that, coupled with Hamilton's mighty drumming, should endear this record to rock-trained ears. In the twenty-five years I've spent searching for this, I've never seen a trace of it until locating this old vinyl LP from Argentina, released in '57 by Decca with Spanish liner notes. I have no idea what the notes say, except that the quintet consists of: Chico Hamilton - drums, Carson Smith - bass, John Pisano - guitar, Paul Horn - woodwinds and Fred Katz - cello. Most of the song titles are in Spanish too, which I'm pretty sure was a liberty Decca took to promote it in the Latin market. In English the titles are: "Goodbye Baby", "Cheek To Chico", "Susan", "Sidney's Theme", "Jonalah", "Jam", "Night Beat" and "Concierto Of Themes From 'The Sweet Smell Of Success'", the last of which takes up all of side two. The record's label gives compositional credit for all the tunes to Fred Katz and Chico Hamilton. There is a tight, flashy element to the group's sound that reminds me of those small groups Benny Goodman had with Gene Krupa, Lionel Hampton, Charlie Christian and others back in the swing era, but the writing here has an overt intellectual quality that marks it as belonging to the late '50s. With the attention given to composition, mood consistency, pacing, etc., this comes across as one of the best jazz albums of that era, in the sense that it is more than just a loose blowing session.

Thanks Jim! This is a terrific LP.

Ain't afraid

of dyin'

Happy birthday

Robin Gibb!

Lit up like a Christmas tree

Merry Christmas baby
Babe you sure did treat me nice
Merry Christmas baby
Babe you sure did treat me nice
Gave me a diamond ring for Christmas
And now I'm living in paradise

Well, I'm feeling mighty fine
I've got good music on my radio
I'm feeling mighty fine
I've got good music on my radio
Well I want to kiss you pretty baby
While we're standing beneath the mistletoe

St. Nick came down the chimney
'Bout half past three
Left all these pretty presents
That you see before me

Merry Christmas pretty baby, you sure been good to me
I haven't had a drink this morning
But I'm all lit up like a Christmas tree

- Baxter & Moore

Santa is real!

Ho Ho Ho! Here's what you've been waiting for! This year's CD is a good one! I've already had one given back to me by a co-worker that couldn't make it past the first 15 minutes. So you know it's good! Last weeks cd is still available.

Oh yeah. The title and cover are a nod to the Louvin Brothers. And the Sex Clark 5 who used the same idea a few years ago after I made a a few jokes at a Christmas party. I was going to replace Satan with Santa but my photo editing skills fccin' stink. So all I modified was the name of the LP. Switching a couple letters is easy. Anybody that uses the idea next year better send me a copy of the picture.

Happy Holidays!

This time

another year

Still I find myself

in the same motel

Thanks!

Some action

There are two main phases of the Flamin Groovies career, the early high energy band and the later beat revival band. Flamin Groovies fans are usually partial to one era or the other.

So which one is better? Decide for yourself - here's a 1973 version of the Groovies best song "Shake Some Action" recorded as a demo right after Roy Loney left the band. It's Cyril Jordan's favorite take of the song.

And here's the officially released version that was used as the title song for the great LP that the Groovies released in 1976. Four years and a big stylistic change in between the two recordings. I like both of 'em but I'm easy to please.

Heck, I even like this recording by the eighties version of the band. Nobody ever picks that as the Groovies best era.

R.I.P.

Ike Turner.

Without Ike, rock & roll would not have been the same.

Mistletoe twist

It's Christmas so here's a CD of Christmas music that I made a few years ago. Burn this to a disc, take it to work and ruin your office party!

A new CD will be posted sometime next week so check back!

After all

you just cleaned out the attic

Train

gonna be here

Happy birthday

Gregg Allman!

There she goes again

There she goes again
She's out on the streets again
She's down on her knees, my friend
But you know she'll never ask you please again

Now take a look, there's no tears in her eyes
She won't take it from just any guy, what can you do?
You see her walkin' on down the street
Look at all your friends she's gonna meet
You better hit her

There she goes again
She's knocked out on her feet again
She's down on her knees, my friend
But you know she'll never ask you please again

Now take a look, theres no tears in her eyes
Like a bird, you know she would fly, what can you do?
You see her walkin' on down the street
Look at all your friends that she's gonna meet
You better hit her

Now take a look, there's no tears in her eyes
Like a bird, you know she will fly, fly, fly away
See her walking on down the street
Look at all your friends that she's gonna meet

She's gonna bawl and shout
She's gonna work it
She's gonna work it out, bye bye
Bye bye baby
All right

- Lou Reed (hat tip: M.G.)

Little red boat?

Every Mothers’ Sons started up in 1966 when two folk-singing brothers named Lary & Dennis Larden met organist Bruce Milner. They found a rhythm section and spent the next few months working up some songs and started playing out. Through a contact from the Lardens folk days, the band was introduced to producer Wes Farrell, who had previously worked with The McCoys and Jay & the Americans. Farrell signed Every Mothers’ Son to his production company and then to MGM Records.

The band’s first single was “Come On Down To My Boat Baby”. It was a huge hit and still sounds great. Farrell co-wrote that song with Jerry Goldstein. The band wrote most of their own songs and did a pretty good job too. Zombies fans will like this. The Lardens folky roots are evident on some songs. If this song wasn’t on the same LP as “Come On Down To My Boat”, it probably would be considered a garage classic. Actually, Every Mothers’ Son would be highly regarded if they hadn’t had a hit record. Not looking like a Monkees cash-in on their record covers would’ve probably helped too.

The band released two LPs. Both of them came out in 1967 and are easy to find cheap. Get ‘em both! Also, there is a CD available with both LPs and a bonus non-LP song. Dennis Larden joined Rick Nelson’s Stone Canyon Band after Every Mothers’ Son broke up.

It won't be very long

Will you be ready?

R.I.P.

Evel Knievel