||| Hiatus Over |||

I don't know if the links on the right still work.  They'll remain as a testament to the cool, interesting, and foggy yesteryear.

 

 

I love you Em.... here's to keeping us going on until infinity... 19 years strong

https://cosmatomicblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/elysian-brewering-company-capitol-hill.html

 

2014-2023: Tons of good times with family, friends, food, beer, bands, and cats from Seattle to Houston

Queen - A Day at the Races (1976) - 99¢ Record #10

Queen's fifth album.

Freddie Mercury rules and so does this album.

1. Tie Your Mother Down
2. You Take My Breath Away
3. Long Away
4. The Millionaire Waltz
5. You and I
6. Somebody to Love
7. White Man
8. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy
9. Drowse
10. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)

RIP.

Spook Stuff for Hallowe'en (1960) - 99¢ Record #9

More 33 1/2 RPM sound effects for the season.

Can't fail with descriptions like "Witches and goblins take off for Halloween shenanigans on the moon" and "A cowboy escaping from a prairie fire on a stormy Halloween night."

Tracks:
1. Prologue - Witches Rehearse for Halloween
2. 18 Spooky Sound Effects for Your Ghost Stories
3. The Haunted Mine
4. A Deserted Prairie Ranch
5. A Cemetery at Midnight
6. Halloween at the Haunted Castle
7. Spooky Zoo Party
8. Hobgoblins and Spaceships
9. Hey Diddle Diddle Spook Stuff

Halloween, where the weirdest wildest sites are seen - Oscar Brand

Stand By Me - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1986) - 99¢ Record #8

The film and tunes can be credited for an entire generation's fascination for backyard camping, leeches, and the 50's.  

Tracks:

1. Everyday (Buddy Holly)

2. Let The Good Times Roll (Shirley & Lee)
3. Come Go With Me (The Del Vikings)
4. Whispering Bells (The Del Vikings)
5. Get A Job (Silhouettes)
6. Lollipop (The Chordettes)
7. Yakety Yak (The Coasters)
8. Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lewis)
9. Mr. Lee (The Bobbettes)
10. Stand By Me ( Ben E. King)

Turn this movie into a video game?  Kids, who make Vern look trim and socially graceful, trek through the virtual wilderness on a corpse tracking expedition only to find Ray Brower is a zombie.

The Ventures - 10th Anniversary Album (1970) - 99¢ Record #7

The Ventures, from Tacoma, WA, are one of the smoothest instrumental rock bands of all time. 

While probably best known for the Hawaii Five-O theme song they have an extensive discography with over 100 million albums sold worldwide.
 

This double LP has them covering 60's pop classics with their own brand of funky pseudo psychedelic surf rock. 

Perfect easy listening for perfectly easy listeners.

Tracks:
1. Everybody's Talkin'
2. Sweet Caroline
3. Medley: Who'll Stop the Rain/Bad Moon Rising
4. Michelle
5. Good Morning Starshine
6. Bridge over Troubled Water
7. Eleanor Rigby
8. Sound of Silence
9. Strangers in the Night
10. Those Were the Days
11. MacArthur Park
12. Medley: Blowin' in the Wind/Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
13. Up, Up and Away
14. By the Time I Get to Phoenix
15. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
16. Let It Be
17. Sugar, Sugar
18. Never My Love
19. Delilah
20. Hey Jude
21. Spinning Wheel

Annette Funicello > All.

Rufus & Chaka - Masterjam (1979) - 99¢ Record #6

Eighth studio album from Chicago's Rufus with Quincy Jones at the controls. 

The cover of this album sums up the foundation for the perfect party: hot pink, pin striped pants, inebriated jogging down a sunny CA street, crimson leisure suit, and a lone strawberry.



Funked out bass lines and catchy disco-lite arrangements that can make even the non-dancers sway.  Carefree and up tempo with some soulful vocals from Chaka Kahn.

Tracks:
1. Do You Love What You Feel
2. Any Love
3. Heaven Bound
4. Walk the Rockway
5. Live in Me
6. Body Heat
7. I'm Dancing for Your Love
8. What Am I Missing?
9. Masterjam

There was a time where the coolest people danced in synch.

Leo Kottke - Greenhouse (1972) - 99¢ Record #5

Fifth album from American guitarist Leo Kottke.

I had never heard any song by him before and what sold me on this record was the cover art and the quote on the back: "In the sense that my guitars were once plants, this record's a greenhouse."

Picking across the fretboard with a haunting balance between bittersweet pessimism and heartfelt inspiration.  Techincally rich and twistingly complex guitar playing.

Seven tracks are instrumentals and the others drenched in vocals from the savanna.

Tracks:
1. Bean Time
2. Tiny Island
3. Song of the Swamp
4. In Christ There Is No East or West
5. Last Steam Engine Train
6. From the Cradle to the Grave
7. Louise
8. Spanish Entomologist
9. Owls
10. You Don't Have to Need Me
11. Lost John

Everyday is all the same, going from the cradle to the grave.

Robin Trower - In City Dreams (1977) - 99¢ Record #4

Fifth solo album from underrated English guitar legend Robin Trower. The first track and songs like "Falling Star" and "Farther up the Road" spill out impressive bluesy guitar funkiness. The second side continues with spiraling guitar elegance. "Smile" even has a bit of a disco vibe going on. One thing common in each tune is that both guitar and vocals share center stage with surging proficiency and emotion. From dreamy to spectral.

Tracks:
1. Somebody Calling
2. Sweet Wine of Love
3. Bluebird
4. Falling Star
5. Farther on up the Road
6. Smile
7. Little Girl
8. Love's Gonna Bring You Round
9. In City Dreams

I wonder how many kids were conceived because of this album.

Henry Mancini - The Blues and the Beat (1960) - 99¢ Record #3

Henry Mancini was an American composer known for his film and TV scores as well as recording over ninety albums. The songs here are upbeat with lots of low bass and swinging horns. When the album started I felt I was drinking martinis in a detective movie and this makes some sense since I read Mancini composed the theme to The Pink Panther. The Blues side songs (first 6 songs) all have a light fresh air about them with bass flutes and french horns creating unusally mellow sounds. The Beat side songs (the last six songs) made me think of a big band playing jazz. An interesting and relaxing combination making this easy for repeat listens. There is not a lot of information about this album. The LP has held up for the last fifty years and for 99¢ it is a much better deal than the seventy dollar CD at Amazon.

Tracks:
1. Blues
2. Smoke Rings
3. Misty
4. Blue Flame
5. After Hours
6. Mood Indigo
7. Beat
8. Big Noise from Winnetka
9. Alright, Okay, You Win
10. Tippin' In
11. How Could You Do a Thing Like That to Me
12. Sing, Sing, Sing

Better than a Sunday morning sermon.

John Denver - Rocky Mountain High (1972) - 99¢ Record #2

Sixth and most recognized release from the iconic John Denver. Includes lyrics and a picture of a back turned Denver sporting a shirt reading "Be Kind to Animals - Kiss a Beaver." Drips with organic folk soul and hemp twined hymns.

John Denver delivers his own poignant sermon. An echoing voice complimented with sorrow, sentimentality, and celebration.  These songs are not only timeless but show a man that is both conscious of his existence and part of everything he sees. Highlights include a cover of John Prine's "Paradise" and the five part, season encapsulating epic, "Season Suite."

Tracks:
1. Rocky Mountain High
2. Mother Nature's Son
3. Paradise
4. For Baby (For Bobbie)
5. Darcy Farrow
6. Prisoners
7. Goodbye Again
8. Season Suite/Summer
9. Season Suite/Fall
10. Season Suite/Winter
11. Season Suite/Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes To Mexico)
12. Season Suite/Spring

Maybe to hippie for modern audiences but not me.

Johnny Hodges with Lawrence Welk's Orchestra (1965) - 99¢ Record #1

Admittedly I know nothing about jazz or the various sub-genres. I picked this record up for .99 cents. The goal is to listen and review one .99 cent record a week. I will also do some basic research about the album so I can learn something new along the way.

Johnny Hodges was a self taught alto saxophonist that played with Duke Ellington while Lawrence Welk was a musician and radio / television star from the mid 20th century. This is by all accounts a molding of two talented, yet stylistically different, individuals. Essentially, a crossover recording. The orchestra is a rich-full backdrop with a vibrant Hodges in the forefront. Everything blends together nicely in warm instrumental bliss. There are some soft champagne drinking tunes with the last couple bringing the foot to a tap. I've listened to this record quite a few times in a row and have yet to get tired of it. Some of the highlights include “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Stardust.” And of course a pleasant surprise, that I was unaware of until the song came on, “Blue Velvet.”

Tracks:
1. Someone to Watch over Me
2. Misty
3. Fantastic, That's You
4. Stardust
5. I Can't Get Started
6. Haunting Melody
7. When My Baby Smiles at Me
8. Blue Velvet
9. Sophisticated Lady
10. Canadian Sunset
11. In a Sentimental Mood
12. I'm Beginning to See the Light