101 Strings - Plus Dynamic Percussion (1969)

Alright, this is the first time I´ve got a problem: This is a great record, believe me, but the whole record´s got a surface noise from the start to the end, and I cannot remove it. If anyone feels like he can remaster this little gem for me, I´ll gladly upload the whole record. But there´s not much use in uploading this one in a terrible quality. Maybe there´s one option in cleaning a record I haven´t heard of yet? Do YOU have any suggestions on how to get rid of these noises? I don´t know what to do and I gave it up. Maybe you´ve got the re-issue on tape from 1990? Maybe you´ve got the files from somewhere on the web? Maybe you would like to remove the noise on my files? Well, I would like to have this record in a good quality, so if you happen to have this, please let me know. But first, you can listen to "Voodoo Moon". There are so many great tracks on this record, it´s really a shame how some people treat their old vinyl...

101 Strings - Voodoo Moon

Bobby Byrne - Dance Discotheque Vol. 2 (1966)

Bobby Byrne joined the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra at age 16, then became trombone soloist in Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra following their split in 1935. Byrne formed his own band in 1940. He stayed busy playing in several studio orchestras as well, playing with Pearl Bailey, Cannonball Adderly, Cootie Williams, Charlie Barnet, Urbie Green and Lionel Hampton between 1952 and 1960. By the late 60´s, he was no longer an active player but an executive for Command Records, so this is one of his last albums he made as a musician.

Here you can get a great version of "Mr. Tambourine Man". If you´ve always wondered, why there´s no tambourine in the Bob Dylan´s song, and no tambourine in The Byrds´ version, you should try Byrne´s version. The other´s have simply forgotten it. Or they just didn´t want one in it: "Hey, Mr. Dylan, wouldn´t it be nice to have a tambourine on this song?" - "No. I don´t think so." Actually he had his point. "Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me..." Have YOU ever PLAYED a song on a tambourine? Go ahead and try it. It´s not easy, but many songs sound the same, when they are played on a tambourine only. But the correct line, which I suggested to Mr. Dylan when I met him in Roskilde, Denmark once, got rejected by him: "Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, would you please get a Big Band and accompany a song for me..." I wonder why, because that is exactly what Bobby Byrne did in 1966. He must have heard my plea before, and you get a massive tambourine sound here...

Dick Schory - Re-Percussion (1957)

This album is credited to Richard Schory, who is not the brother of Dick, it´s in fact his alter ego, or just his nickname. Well, Dick is the nickname, not Richard. Or was his real name Dick and his nickname was Richard? Anyway... Dick (or Richard) was a percussionist at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. His popularizing of percussion music in 1957, when this album was released, paved the way for an entire movement in pop music in the late 50's and early 60's that lasted up to 1969. I posted the fantastic "Music for Bang, Baaroom and Harp" earlier, so here is it´s predecessor from 1957. Please enjoy Mr. Schory´s percussion ensemble...

James Last - Voodoo Party (1971)

Finally! I got it, YES! Thanks to Gary from Soundsational! This is really a fantastic record. Strange, when you listen to "Mr. Giant Man" or "Voodoo Ladys Love". I think they took some drugs when recording this, but what kind of? If you know what they took, please let me know...

But even if you´re still drug-free, I highly recommend this record!

Leroy Holmes - Hawaii with a Bongo Beat (1961)

In this unique recording Leroy Holmes has successfully blended two, individually distinctive types of music: the tropically melodious themes of the Hawaiian Islands, and the popular new "Nashville" beat! Leroy approached this difficult combination of musical styles with the understanding that comes with knowledge gained from a long-time intimacy with popular music. He had to mold the fiery rhythm of the bongo drum into an arrangement that would pep-up the breezy music of the Islands. The result is amazing! You hear the well loved Hawaiian melodies in real modern rhythm.

You will happily recognize your favorite Island tunes, and you may even hear a few that are unfamiliar, for LeRoy has balanced his selection of well-known numbers by including a few which are heard less frequently.

Leroy's heavy string section keeps the orchestra from sounding like a dance band, while four trombones lend real brass excitement to the music. Voices without lyrics sing along with the melodic line to give the music personality - the women sing with the strings and the men with the trombones.

The Frank Barber Percussion - Deep Percussion (1967)

I personally only knew Frank Barber as a notorious Dixieland-performer. I can remember hits like "Icecream" ("You scream, I scream..."). Huaaaah! I´m gettin´ sick again... But this album from 1967 is pretty cool, because it features many hits from that happy-hippie-era. According to spaceagepop this album was originally released in the UK as "Happy Percussion" and was one of the last percussion showcase albums of the Space Age Pop era. This is the German release from the Polydor label. Please enjoy the multi-talented Frank Barber.

Enoch Light - Provocative Percussion (1959)

This is the first in a series of Provocative Percussion records under the supervision of Enoch Light. Under the direction of Terry Snyder, Light and the revolving cast known as either the Command All-Stars or simply just the All-Stars, began to experiment with extreme stereophonics, using close microphone techniques and hard-left or hard-right panning to re-create a comparatively austere sense of what could be accomplished with two distinct channels of sound. Here it is, it´s an all-time classic.

Eddie Cano - Deep In A Drum (1958)

Pianist Eddie Cano was born in 1927 and spent most of his career connecting the dots between jazz and Latin styles. He found an appreciative audience for a series of albums under his own name released in the '50s and '60s by labels such as Atco, Reprise, and RCA, his following similar to that of vibraphonist Cal Tjader and bandleader Les Baxter. Cano also drew on dance crazes such as the cha cha and the Watusi to promote his efforts. His family was musically gifted, Cano's father a bass guitarist, his grandfather a member of the Mexico City Symphony. He began his career in the band of Miquelito Valdes. This work is from 1958 and features the song "Honey Do", which was a cross-genre answer song to Carl Perkins' popular "Honey Don't". He died suddenly shortly after heart surgery in 1988.

Werner Müller - Percussion In The Sky (1962)

Another German musician, Werner Müller, has contributed several albums to the "London Phase 4"-series. He was the leader of the "RIAS-Tanzorchester" in Berlin and later became leader of the "WDR-Tanzorchester" in Cologne. Both were popular radio-stations at that time. Now, WDR still is a popular radio-station, especially "WDR 4", where sometimes you can listen to music like this. But they´re not connected to "Phase 4"...
Anyway, here´s one of his greatest works, "Percussion in the Sky" from the year 1962. On this record, he uses wordless vocals, sound effects, whistling, and other touches to lend an "other-world-feeling" to the numbers. Funny sound, especially "Don´t Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes", which was made popular by Perry Como, I guess...

Dick Schory - Music For Bang, Baaroom And Harp (1959)

Woohoo, that was close. Only two votes ahead of Les Baxter´s "Ports of Pleasure", but what the heck: The people have chosen. And they made a good choice. Dick Schory´s Album from the year 1959 features the "Biggest Battery of Percussion West of Cape Canaveral". So, if You like percussion, this is your record. Percussion, percussion, percussion, nothing but percussion. Have fun!