SMASH HITS OF TODAY FOR YOUR DANCING OR LISTENING PLEASURE
JACK IN THE BOX • MY SWEET LORD • LA BAMBA • ROSE GARDEN • THE HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN • MY WAY • BLUES FOR THE KEYBOARD • RUBY TUESDAY • POWER TO THE PEOPLE • DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE – JERICHO • Theme from LOVE STORY
This great programme contains all the wonderful rich musical colours and rhythms that can possibly come out of the versatile Hammond Organ.
Big Jim “H” sweeps keys and pedals in a variety of tempos for dancing to hit melodies. The trio rounds out the sound and the result is one of the finest organ records to originate in America in the seventies. Recorded Under
We have, in this album, given you a selection of romantic melodies, beautifully played on a grand piano backed by lush orchestrations. All you need to go with it is a dimly lit room, a beautiful companion and a bottle of rare old wine (we, unfortunately can only supply the music).
ADAMO – RICHARD ANTHONY, DIE BAMBIS – DUO DINAMICO, PINO DONAGGIO – ALTEMAR DUTRA, REX GILDO – GITTE, TULIO E. LEON – INA MARINA, PIERO SANCHO – BILLY THORPE and the AZTECS
Although England and the United States might be said to dominate the world’s hit parades, their dominance varies from country to country to quite a considerable extent. In some countries it is only the occasional locally produced recording that makes the grade in competing with the big guns of the U.K. and the U.S. In others, more nationalistic or less prone to use English as a second language, for whatever reason, It is the converse and only a few non-local recording artistes achieve success. Whatever the country, whatever the ratio of local to cross-Atlantic big league pop music, there are exciting, interesting artistes to listen to and different record and music sounds to savour. You will find just a few of them on this LP.
The Duo Dinamico are well known, not only in their native Spain but throughout much of Latin America, as film stars as well as singers. Such is their drawing power that a favourite venue for one of their concerts is one of the larger bullrings – because of the large seating capacity. Esos Ojitos Negros is one of a string of hits composed and sung by Ramon Arcusa and Manuel de la Galva. A number one hit in Spain, naturally, and In the top three In both Peru and Chile.
Salvatore Adamo was born in Sicily but has lived in Belgium since he was three years old. He is a songwriter as well as a singer, and La Nuit proves yet again his status as one of the world’s premier International artistes. It reached the top place In the charts in Belgium, France and Switzerland and was in the top twenty in Spain, while a specially recorded Italian version reached number one in Italy.
A quick flip across the Atlantic brings us to Piero Sancho – and an Argentinian man of mystery. His true identity remains a secret closely guarded by his recording company but it is no secret that Letkiss, the hit instrumental dance number featuring the trumpet, is his second hit and became well known in Chile, Equador, Peru and Mexico. In Chile in fact, as well as in Argentina, it was a number one hit.
Rex Gildo’s Wenn Es Sein Muss, Kann Ich Treu Sein was a top ten hit for this German artiste whose success as a singer followed on a highly successful film career, while Gitte Haenning followed the success of the Eurovision Song Contest’s winning entry from Luxembourg last year by recording a Danish version of Poupee De Cir Poupee De Son; Lille Dukke, as it was called, reached number nine in Den-mark, while it was number one in Sweden for several weeks. Gitte is a very popular artiste in Germany as well as in Scandinavia and she makes a great job of the catchy little song. Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs’ Over The Rainbow provides the only English language recording on this LP. There had to be a representative from the Commonwealth and after several number one hits in his native Australia, with this particular item repeating the pattern of success, Billy Thorpe seemed like a worthy representative. This is, incidentally, quite an inter-national group, for not only is at least one of the Aztecs a New Zealander, but Billy himself only arrived in Australia from England when he was ten.
From Australasia, back to South America, but this time to Brazil where last year Altemar Dutra’s O Trovador held the number one spot for no less than four months. Since his first album release in 1963 Altemar has become the singing idol of Brazil with every disc making the top three.
Holland’s Imca Marina with Santa Domingo, a Western flavoured song that was a hit in other countries in Europe by other singers, but which was taken to number six in the Dutch hit parade by this talented girl singer who is herself well liked throughout Europe.
The same can be said for Italy’s Pino Donaggio who had a number one hit in his own country with lo Che Non Vivo (Senza Te), a recording which also got to number six In Argentina and to number two In both Spain and Brazil. A really beautiful song this!
The internationally popular Richard Anthony Is the representative of La Belle France with Je Me Suis Souvent Demands which only just missed being a number one hit for him. This was just one more of a whole string of successes but it certainly confirms M. Anthony’s standing as an artiste of more than just pop calibre.
Venezuela’s representative is the simply named Tulio Enrique Leon, whose relaxed but catchy Latin organ-playing took him to number one in Peru as well as in his native landla Pollera Amarilla is perhaps a little strange at first hearing, but the tune and the song both grow on one to quite an alarming extent. Finally, a somewhat melancholy number one hit from Austria from a group called Die Bambis, the song itself being called Melancholie. Unusual, but very effective, this raised quite considerable interest on the continent of Europe at the time of release, and deservedly so.
It is perhaps a slightly introspective sounding way to finish this LP, but, as with the other recordings here, we hope that it will whet your appetite to hear more of these artistes, and indeed more overseas music generally. There is plenty of good music around, and from many a country. And incidentally, if you wonder what the front cover design has got to do with the contents of this record, we simply thought that it would be attractive. If the sand, the sea and the sunshine remind you also of your trips abroad in search of the sun, even if at the moment these trips are only vague ideas for the future, then that is an added advantage. R. S.
Musical comedy, is nothing to argue about; it is to be enjoyed. Musical comedy is what the public wants. It has been the most popular form of theatre in America since the turn of the century. It is what melodrama was to the Victorian age. Aimed to please the tired business man, it has rarely aspired to aim any higher, being satisfied to stick to merchandising rather than to concern itself with some vague consideration called “art”.
Those who write histories of the American musical theatre and prate about musical comedy as a “perfected art form” are either victims of a “good-old-days” delusion, of a nostalgia for the life of an imagined past, or are deaf, dumb and blind. The one staggering truth about musicals is that most of them are incapable of surviving for as much as a decade, and when revived prove to be so rheumatic, so banal, so ludicrous that we groan at the shattering of our illusions and depart sadly and silently.
Did audiences really once thrill as the Red Shadow handed Margo his pistol in the Act 1 finale of “The Desert Song”, daring her to shoot him as he crooned to her of “sand kissing a moon-lit sky” and “a desert breeze whisp’ring a lul-la-by” ? Did they really cheer when, in “Good News”, Flo and Windy declared, “Let the Professors … teach history – we’ll make it. Let ’em worry about their dusty old books. We’ll make Tait famous for the ‘Varsity Drag’ ?” Did they really sigh romantically when Magnolia, in “Show Boat”, murmured to Ravenal, “You’ve seen everything in the world,” and he, in an obvious song cue, replied, “I used to think so – until I looked into your eyes -and then I knew I had seen nothing – I hadn’t even lived” ? Did they really roar with delight when Hard-Boiled Herman, asked in “Rose Marie” why he was wearing spurs, answered, “Oh, you never know when you may meet a horse”? And where they really satisfied with a librettist who cleared the chorus off stage at the end of a number by having the leader wave airily and cry, “Come on, chaps, let’s all go on board Sir Egbert’s yacht”?
Most of the musical comedies prior to World War II (and a considerable number of more recent ones) were loosely contrived vehicles, tailored to show off individual vocal, dancing or comedy talents, or to serve as pegs on which to hang an attractive score, with all the clumsiness and ineptness camouflaged with animal gusto, bright music, exquisite settings and extravagantly clad (or unclad) curvaceous girls. It was a rare production that did not require the talents of multiple com-posers or lyricists or vaudeville specialties inserted to bolster weak spots especially in the second act.
The real inheritance from musical comedy is the music – the lilting, rhythmic, incomparable melodies of men like Herbert, Cohan, Friml, Romberg, Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Youmans, Rodgers and Porter.
Incomparable melodies indeed – and in the Songmaster series it is intended to recapture all their theatrical charm and fascination in new scorings by Philip Green, one of Britain’s most renowned and experienced arrangers. With over 200 feature film scores to his credit, 9 television series, umpteen original songs and the conducting in London’s West End of the golden musicals of the 50s, what more experienced tutor could the listener have.
The Russian born Irving Berlin, along with Cole Porter and the Gershwins, was the man who made the American ‘popular’ song into a miniature art form, a reflection of an age and era when the world was growing fast, radio was telling everyone so. Those being whisked along wanted a good tune and a perceptive lyric to cling to “Blue Skies”, “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody”, “If I Had You” all provided this and set the seal on a talent which had already proclaimed its formidable qualities with “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”. In the Songmaster Series, three albums of Irving Berlin’s music will be offered the present one follows up the Early Years (Vol. 1) with the parade of hits from the Golden Years “Marie” “Cheek to Cheek” “Top Hat White Tie and Tails” and a host of others.
Alfred Scholz with his Silver Strings presents for your enjoyment an album of music which will be familiar to all listeners.
Here we have a beautiful deep-throated orchestra of strings and wood-wind providing a pleasant relaxing atmosphere.
Alfred Scholz must surely be one of music’s most widely travelled conductors. He has held appointments as Guest Conductor with the most famous orchestras of Europe and America.
As a young man he began to attract a public following as lead violinist with the Prague Philharmonica, where his talents were recognized and he was.quickly promoted to various conducting appointments in Czechoslovakia, Austria and Germany.
He has conducted the Vienna Philharmonic and was for some time with the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Since his return from America Alfred Scholz has been concentrating on the lighter side of Classical music including orchestral versions of popular melodies.
The Guitar is an instrument of many moods – exciting and pulsating in rock and roll, classically beautiful in the concert hall, dramatic in Flamenco music, and soft and sweet when played in a relaxed sentimental mood. A master of all these styles of guitar playing is the International guitarist Bert Weedon … a man who has spent his life playing his guitar in every field of entertainment, Bert is constantly in touch with the taste of the public in relation to the guitar and its music. His two previous L.P.’s “The Romantic Guitar of Bert Weedon” and “Rockin’ at the Roundhouse” have proved his ability to please his very large and varied public. Such has been the success of these two L.P.’s that we asked him to record this new L.P. in which he features the sweet sounds of his stylish guitar playing melodies that are not only great tunes, but lend themselves particularly to the magic touch of his guitar.
All the tunes have been carefully chosen and are among the most requested items that Bert is asked to play when on his theatrical and cabaret appearances in Britain and the Continent. The lovely “Lara’s Theme” from Dr. Zhivago, and the theme from “Love Story” are two great melodies from the world of the Cinema. “Fascination”, “Pretend” and “Spanish Harlem” are tunes that everyone seems to know and love. “Love’s been good to me” and “It’s impossible” simply had to be included because of the large number of requests we have received for Bert Weedon to record these numbers; whilst “Granada” and “Didn’t We” are two favourites to which Bert gives a special touch that we feel sure you will particularly enjoy. Finally “Athens Theme” was written by Bert when he appeared in that most romantic of Cities and was captivated by its charm and its music.
We feel that Bert Weedon has captured the magic of all these lovely tunes on this L.P. in the way that only he seems to be able to make the guitar sing so sweetly. The arrangements of the various pieces have been written by him to bring out the beauty of the tunes, and the listener can enjoy hearing them without being distracted by over orchestration … letting the tunes speak (or sing) for themselves!
Bert who has had great experience of playing to the public because of his radio and TV exposure, and appearances in theatrical productions and cabaret, has had many hit records in the charts and successful L.P.’s. We feel that in this his latest, you will enjoy some of the greatest tunes in popular music played in a way that will enchant you. So sit back, relax and listen to “The Sweet Sounds of Bert Weedon’s Guitar”.
Musically, Arthur Fiedler likes to be “where it’s at.” In the winter of 1963 Liverpool was the place, and Mr. Fiedler was there. He was conducting concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, and intrigued by the overnight popularity of the “Mersey sound,” he spent some time in hearing and absorbing the local groups. As a musician, he was both amazed and pleased that this music was achieving the significant goal of bringing youngsters together, causing them to participate and enjoy.
When he returned to Boston, Mr. Fiedler decided to adopt the “Mersey sound” for his orchestra. He started at the top: a symphonic arrangement of I Want to Hold Your Hand, the fantastically successful hit by Liverpool’s most distinguished alumni: The Beatles. This became one of the most popular Boston Pops encores, and their subsequent recording itself invaded the best-seller lists.
Five years have passed, and aside from the fact that almost every male wears his hair just a little longer, it is generally accepted that the Beatles (the “writing” Beatles: John Lennon and Paul McCartney) compose terrific tunes.
Since Arthur Fiedler is wedded to the idea that everybody likes a good tune (whether it be Bach, Beethoven, Brahms or Beatles) he has enlarged his Beatles repertoire in recent years and picked some of their best creations for this album. Since these are instrumental arrangements made especially for the 95-man Boston Pops Orchestra, care had to be taken to choose melodies that could live without the lyrics (arranger Richard Hayman has introduced some amusing musical references to such other Boston Pops concert regulars as Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss). Judging by the audience reaction in Boston’s venerable Symphony Hall, there should be at least one of these albums in every home! It is Mr. Fiedler’s modest goal to introduce youngsters to the splendors of the symphony orchestra and the rest of us to the creative tunefulness of today’s young composers.
As a matter of interest we should add that these recordings are all brand-new (with the exception of Yesterday and Michelle taken from Up Up and Away) The present version of I Want to Hold Your Hand was taped on June 20, 1969 (Mr. Fiedler decided that the tempo of his 1964 recording was not quite as bright as it should be). While we recorded and issued a “live” concert performance of And I Love Her and A Hard Day’s Night some years ago, we concluded that new recordings made under the same ideal studio conditions as the rest of the album would give a better result.
PETER DELLHEIM
This beautifully produced album demonstrates the versatile nature of strings, presenting them in both classical and contemporary style. Listen to The London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Rens Leibowitz, playing Offenbach’s ‘Waltz from the Gaite Parisienne’ showing strings in all their magnificence gliding romantically through the piece. Then hear the same orchestra’s version of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’, an outstanding track full of emotion, the string emphasis enhancing the composer’s original theme. The New World Orchestra, with conductor Herman Lang also contribute several tracks. Particularly interesting is their sparkling interpretation of Rimsky Korsakoff’s ‘Caprice Espagnol’. Gerry Roberto and the ‘1000 Velvet Strings’ provide a pleasant contrast to the classical offering, with the string in a lighter vein, dancing, sometimes humourishly, through Roberto’s own arrangements (Italian Fantasia and Turkish Flutes are fine examples of his work). Lovers of string music will appreciate the unusual variety of material found on this album and the excellence of its performance.
If you were wondering why the track “Banks of the Ohio” doesn’t list the writer it’s because the writers are unknown. This song – sometimes known as ‘On the Banks of the Ohio’, is what can properly be described as a murder ballad and was written some time in the 19th century. One the most well known versions is by Olivia Newton John and can be enjoyed over at YouTube here.
Sleeve Notes:
Yet another superb album of top ten hits, covered in their own way by the Pop Express band. The Pop Express Band is a band of happy go lucky singers and musicians, dedicated to bringing to you all the sounds from the hit parade in such a way that you would almost think that they were the original chart breakers. This is a record to enjoy on your own or with friends, so go ahead enjoy it.
Top of the Pops series splashed the cash with this release featuring as it does a gatefold design with a mild “domination” theme to titillate. the poor guy at the end of the chain appears to have previously caught his foot in a car door or similar judging by the oddly deformed toe arrangement. The cover model is Suzy Shaw, who appeared on other covers in this series including Top of the Pops volumes 28, 37, 47, 49 and 69, as well as Best of 1972.
Sleeve Notes:
Let us explain what our Hallmark “Top Of The Pops” L.P.s are all about. Just over three short years ago we at Pickwick International decided that what the fans wanted was a top quality, low priced album covering twelve of the best hits of the day. Only we wouldn’t be using the original artistes or groups.We would gather together the cream of the session musicians and try to make even better versions of the current hit tunes than those recorded by the original artistes.
So in June 1968 we issued our original cover version L.P. It was a hit with pop enthusiasts not only in Britain but also in Europe and many other parts of the world. This encouraged us to issue another version, which followed the success of the first.
Since then, about every two months, we have issued these great albums – and, such was the success of every issue, we were encouraged to release each December a composite album called The Best of Top Of The Pops containing the cream of the tracks from Top Of The Pops albums during the year.
This, then, is The Best of Top Of The Pops ’71, and we feel it MUST be a runaway bestseller. Do you know why we think this? First of all, our Top Of The Pops issue of May, 1971, went to No. 1. in the Record Retailer L.P. chart for the first time in our history. What’s more, four of the last six issues have topped the Chart.
This achievement is quite unparalleled in the history of Budget Records – and we’re very proud of it. This album contains the greatest hits we have recorded in 1971, including rocketing hits from our four No. 1 best selling Top Of The Pops.
That’s why we think you’re going to enjoy every second of this record: and that’s why we sincerely believe we have a runaway best seller.
There was a time when you had to search pretty hard to find a British name in any collection of the year’s top hit records. But not any more, for as the music scene has changed, so, too, has the shift in musical talent swung heavily to the British and European side of the Atlantic.The Best of “Top Of The Pops” shows just how strong the influence has been because the year kicked off to a great start with the emergence into the solo limelight of George Harrison. The mantle of the Beatles firmly cast aside he would now watch My Sweet Lord soar to the top of charts all over the world. Likewise Rod Stewart, a talent that had been long waiting for a chance to show that the early predictions for success would be justified sooner or later, shot to Number One spot in the British and American charts at almost the same time with Maggie May. Appropriately enough his record company awarded him a Gold, a Silver and even a Platinum disc! Another much touted talent that found its way into the maze of hit parade success in ’71 was T. Rex and two of their chart stormers Hot Love and Get It On occupy a much deserved place in this collection.
As T. Rex found hit to follow hit so, too, did a Scottish act Middle Of The Road who followed up Chirpy-Chirpy, Cheep-Cheep with Tweedle-Dee Tweedle-Dum and fellow Scots The Sweet saw Co-Co occupy more than fourteen weeks in the charts. Then there’s Mungo Jerry who couldn’t quite emulate the phenomenal world-wide success of In The Summertime, but who made it certain that the hit parade would register Baby Jump in fine style. And it did because the song was a Number One hit in Britain.
But of course the Americans can never be left out of any hit parade and Diana Ross proved that she could come up with a spectacular Number One hit like I’m still waiting, Dawn the group formed by former solo hit maker Tony Orlando also managed to maintain a run of success, notably with Knock Three Times a record that brought them to this country for a successful tour. And of course there were the genuine surprise hits, and oldie called Hey Girl, Don’t Bother Me gave The Tams a Number One hit and the former skinhead group Slade saw their Coz I Luv You score four weeks in the Number One slot. All in all, quite a year for hits and what’s more they’re all worth playing again and again.
