Caterina Valente

 Caterina in one of her quiet moods still a good selection of songs...just proving what a fantastic singer she is...she can do quiet just as well as all the vocal gymnastics that she is known for...best track is "Day By Day"!!

1. Love Letters
2. It Might As Well Be Spring
3. This Is All I Ask
4. Ebb Tide
5. What Now My Love
6. Somewhere

1. I Believe
2. All The Things You Are
3. Day By Day
4. The Riddle Song
5. My Colouring Book

          9. Day By Day

The Kirby Stone Four.

 This was the first of a concept recording of "Broadway For Listening"...as far as I know they did another Broadway show "My Fair Lady"..Its a good L/P pity they did not carry it on with other shows !

P.S. This is a fantastic L/P love it to bits !!.

 1. Libretto-ture
 2. Fugue For Tinhorns
3. Adelaide's Lament
4. A Bushel And A Peck
5. Adelaide
6. Sit Down Your Rockin' The Boat

1. If I Were A Bell
2. Take Back Your Mink
3. Sue Me
4. Luck Be A Lady
5. I've Never Been In Love Before
6. More I Cannot Wish You
7. Guys And Dolls

          11. I've Never Been In Love Before

The Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

  Earlier on we dipped our toes in the light classical mode...now I think we will dive into the "Cosmos" and go all classical for a change !!....Most people will be aware of the track "Mars" but I wonder how many knows where it comes from !!...Sooooooooo folks it's here !!!
The Planets Suite was first performed in September 1918 so it is a fairly modern piece of classical music and its a "Beaut"...On the back sleeve there is a very good description of the moods of music of the tracks written by "Imogen Holst"who I assume to be the daughter of the composer......so be adventurous and give it a go !!

 1. Mars....The Bringer Of War
2. Venus....The Bringer Of Peace
3. Mercury....The Winged Messenger

1. Jupiter....The Bringer Of Jollity
2. Saturn....The Bringer Of Old Age
3. Uranus....The Magician
4. Neptune....The Mystic 

          1. Mars....The Bringer Of War

Anita Harris.

This is definitely what you would call a "Concept" L/P all things fruity ect..Anita uses her top high range voice on most of the tracks and it suits her..all the tracks are not sung and played straight forward there are surprises on most of the tracks...soooooooooo the only way to find out the surprises is to download it....if you like her voice then you wont be disappointed

1. Somebody's In My Orchard
2. Watermelon Man
3. Cherry Ripe
4. Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree
5. Inch Worm
6. Butterfly With Coloured Wings

1. Taste Of Honey
2. Lullaby Of The Leaves
3. Oranges And Lemons
4. Honeysuckle Rose
5. Adams Apple
6. Green Leaves Of Summer

          9. Oranges And Lemons

Louis Clark And The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Even tho' the constant beat does go on a bit this 2nd L/P from Louis Clark & the Philly Orch is still good and some very recognisable tunes are still there !! "A Night At The Opera" is a Good Un!!!!

1. Can't Stop The Classics
2. Hooked On America
3. Hooked On Romance (Part Two)
4. Can't Stop The Classics (Part Two)

1. A Night At The Opera
2. Tales Of The Vienna Waltz
3. Hooked On Baroque
4. If You Knew Sousa
5. If You Knew Sousa (And Friends) 

          5. A Night At The Opera

Ruth Brown

John's contributions always seems to feature a female outstanding voice that I have not heard of and he's done it again !!....Its 1964 and what a performance of the Shirley Temple's Classic song....all the well known songs are given a very very different aproach to the originals...great just what I like !!!....so if you like something very different have a listen and leave a comment !!

           10. Whispering Grass

Caterina Valente

This was probably the last English L/P release of Caterina's it was recorded in 1975 when she was still married to "Roy Budd" and he has produced it....it was recorded in England and once again it's a typical 70's sound and 70's songs...so as so many L/P's before... the "Now" is 1975 !!!....She does a good job on the tracks but nothing that you could say was "great" best song for me is the last track "I Wont Last A Day "

 1. True Love
2. Laughter In The Rain
3. September Is a Long Time Gone
4. Love Music
5. What I Did For Love
6. Falling In Love With The Wind

1. Be My Love
2. Feelin' Groovy
3. Love Will Come Again
4. Put A Little Love Away
5. Love Said Goodbye
6. I Won't Last A Day

           12. I Won't Last A Day

Deodato.

Now here's one for the "Electric Guitar" Enthusiasts there are some great "Solo's" on this L/P
and the whole L/P is great !!...including the "Hit" version of (2001) well worth a listen too even if you are not a "Guitar" enthusiast !!!

1. Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)
2. Spirit Of Summer 
3. Carly And Carole

1. Baubles Bangles And Beads
2. Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun
3. September 13

   1. Baubles Bangles And Beads

Brenda Lee

This L/P certainly took me by surprise...didn't realise that Brenda Lee could sing as she does on this Album....certainly her voice has changed since her teens... give it a listen you will be surprised like I was....It ticks all the boxes....

1. Here's That Rainy Day
2. You'll Never know
3. Baby Wont You Please Come Home
4. Can't Help Falling In Love
5. I Only Miss Him When I Think Of Him

1. Am I Blue
2. If I Had You
3. Close To You
4. Little Girl Blue
5. I will Wait For You

          6. Am I Blue

Bob Thompson

A great great surprise with this one !! It's like Ray Conniff plus Jazz and Swing all in one go !!...Thanks John for this one a definite Luigi Plus !!

RCA wanted pop orchestra music.  They turned to Bob. He made Just for Kicks, MMM Nice!, and On the Rocks, which were more experimental and ambitious than what they wanted. He was nominated for a Grammy but nobody bought the records.

Throwing down the gauntlet, he composed Sound of Speed for Dot Records, an LP that combined sound effects and orchestra around the theme of rockets, cars, and trains. ​

Nobody bought that one either. The song Starfire, with its spaceship roar, became a classic in what became known as Space Age Pop music.

 

          3. Happy Talk

Cornelia

What a cool clear voice this songbird has  !!...another singer that should be heard more !!

Cornelia Möller was born in Hamburg, Germany and came to South Africa with her family at the age of three. 

Cornelia was for many years the leading female vocalist in South Africa. She had a string of chart topping hit records and won many awards including SARIE (the South African equivalent of Grammy Awards) and gold discs. She rapidly became a popular performer in South Africa, South West Africa (Namibia) and Mozambique. She toured Europe, particularly Germany and Switzerland, gaining a considerable following there, too. She has also appeared on numerous radio and television programmes. 

For her third album in 1969 "If You love Her", Cornelia chose more commercial material to record. The decision paid off - critics praised the album as her best effort yet. The songs If You Love Her, Gentle On My Mind, Then you can tell me Goodbye and You’re  Up To Your Same Old Tricks.

South Africa has (arguably) produced few female vocalists of world-class stature. Cornelia is undoubtedly one of a select few which can truly be classed as, and favourably compared to, any of the world’s top female vocalists. In her voice you hear everything from a trumpet down to a rich cello – and everything else in between. That is more than just a remarkable range – it is a fabulous breadth of resonant richness.

1. If You love Her

2. Little Green Apples

3. It's My Time

4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix

5. Gentle On My Mind

6. I Shall be Released

1. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

2. Lonesome

3. Lingering On

4. You're Up To The Same Old Tricks

5. Seeman

6. The Wind Knows The Truth

          7. Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye

Elke Sommer

Elke Sommer (born 5 November 1940), born Elke Baronesse von Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist who starred in many Hollywood films.

She moved to the UK to work as an au pair, in order to earn a living and to perfect her English. There, she also received some training as an interpreter.

A frequent guest on television, Sommer sang and participated in comedy sketches on episodes of The Dean Martin Show and on Bob Hope specials, made 10 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. ( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

            5. Solamente Una Vez (You Belong To My Heart)

Libby Morris

Libby Morris (born 1930) is a Canadian comic actress. She appeared in several BBC radio shows of the 1950s and moved into TV and film from the 1960s onwards. She then moved on to London, England, where she starred in her own show doing impersonations.

1. One Of Those Songs

2. Sand In My Shoes

3. I Could fall In Love

4. My Own Personal Bird

5. Alice Blue Gown

6. Tea For Two

1. What Are you trying To Say

2. The Phoenix Love Song

3. It That

4. One Of Those Songs

5. Tess's Torch Song

6. On The Other Side Of The Tracks

           12. On the Other Side Of The Tracks

Bob Thompson Orchestra

Here's the third of the "Bob Thompson" L/P's...this was also a surprise to me !...I expected a rip rousing sound of "Bang Crash & Wallop's !!" that goes with the title of the L/P...Instead we have some very tasteful orchestra sounds that are very inventfull..especially the intro's to the track....Something different is alway's great and welcome !!

1. Super Chief (Diesel Train)

2. Midnight Sailing (Ocean Liner) 

3. La Vespa (Motor Scooter)

4. Sub-Manhattan Blues (Subway)

5. Three Wheeler Waltz (Tricycle) 

6. Count Down (Missile)

1. Star Fire (Jet Plane)

2. Surry Serenade (Horse & Buggy)

3. Le Mans ( Spostrs Cars)

4. Streetcar Named Irvine (Streetcar)

5. Sea Spray (Speed Boat )

6. Early-Bird Whirly-Bird (Helicopter)

          3. La Vespa

Margaret Whiting

 

Margaret Eleanor Whiting (July 22, 1924 – January 10, 2011) was an American popular music and country music singer who gained popularity in the 1940s and 1950s.....In 1945, Whiting began to record under her own name. "A Tree in the Meadow" was a number one hit in the summer of 1948, and her duet with country music star Jimmy Wakely, "Slippin' Around", was another number one hit in 1949. It sold 1.75 million copies, and Whiting was titled "Queen of the Jukeboxes".

Margaret Whiting Sings the Jerome Kern Songbook is a 1960 studio album by Margaret Whiting, with an orchestra conducted and arranged by Russell Garcia, focusing on the songs of Jerome Kern. Originally released as a double-LP set by Verve Records in 1960.

          2. Remind Me

           14. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Johnny Cash

Yea Ha ! Johnny singing in the Sun !.

            9. Goodnight Irene

Juanita Hall

Juanita Hall (née Long, November 6, 1901 – February 29, 1968) was an American musical theatre and film actress. She is remembered for her roles in the original stage and screen versions of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals South Pacific as Bloody Mary – a role that garnered her the Tony Award – and Flower Drum Song as Madame Liang.

In 1950, she became the first African American to win a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bloody Mary in South Pacific starring Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin. She also won a Donaldson Award for playing that role. She played the role for 1,925 performances on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre beginning on April 7, 1949. She also starred in the 1954 Broadway musical House of Flowers in which she sang and danced Harold Arlen's Slide Boy Slide. In addition to her role in South Pacific, she was a regular performer in clubs in Greenwich Village, where she captivated audiences with her renditions of "Am I Blue?", "Lament Over Love", and Langston Hughes' "Cool Saturday Night".

In 1958, she recorded Juanita Hall Sings the Blues (at Beltone Studios in New York City), backed by a group of jazz musicians that included Claude Hopkins, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Doc Cheatham, and George Duvivier. In 1958, she reprised Bloody Mary in the film version of South Pacific, for which her singing part was dubbed (because of legal matters involving copyright), at Richard Rodgers's request, by Muriel Smith, who had played the role in the London production. The same year, Hall starred in Flower Drum Song, another Broadway show by Rodgers and Hammerstein.She also toured in the road show version of Flower Drum Song, but she had to leave it in early 1962 because of illness.

 ( Info Edited From Wikipedia )

1. Hold That Train

2. You've Been A Good Old Wagon

3. After You've Gone

4. Nobody Wants You When Your Down And Out

5. I Don't Want it Second Hand

6. A Good Man is Hard To Find

1. Baby Wont You Please Come Home

2. Gulf Coast Blues

3. Second Fiddle

4. Downhearted Blues

5. Gimme A Pigfoot

6. Lovin' Sam from Alabam

           10. Downhearted Blues