David Carroll - Contrasts - 1959

Yes, yes, I know. The cover is awesome. It's hard to imagine such innocent cheesecake today. I'm sure this record is going to make it into a picture frame in my front hallway at some point. I rotate the albums out from time to time and this is high on the list to go up next.

In addition to the great album cover, the music is fun as well. Easy listening lounge music in it's purest sense. It's all just smooth and easy like a holiday in Fantasyland. The songs explore musical styles from around the world, but give them that Hollywood lounge treatment that you hear on all the great lounge compilations. The cheese is very thick on each track. The orchestrations are sometimes so weird, that you can't imagine that someone from this planet actually came up with them. Several of the songs also remind me of incidental music on shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies". I think I've made that comparison before with other songs, but a few of these tracks "Do You Ever Think Of Me" in particular brings up images of Jethro Bodine walking by the cement pond.

"The Ski Song" sounds like a soundtrack to the happiest cartoon about skiing ever made. I don't know what that would be, but I'd imagine it has happy little bunnies and chipmunks skiing and drinking cocoa.

For the most part all the songs are instrumental except the last track, which is the funniest song on the record. I hate to give away the twist in the song, but I will just to entice you to listen. The song pretty much sings about the cutest little wiggle as if talking about a woman, but in the end it turns out the guy is singing about his dog. The song is so sweet and cute that you can't help but smile.

I haven't read much on David Carroll, but if you want to know the basics try here.

So if you're in the mood to have a little cocktail party or just want to have some nice background music for a 50's TV dinner party, this may be just the record for you.

Enjoy!

01 Swinging Sweethearts.m4a
02 Do You Ever Think Of Me.m4a
03 Yours (Quiereme Mucho).m4a
04 The Ski Song (Slalum).m4a
05 Live A Little.m4a
06 Thunderbird.m4a
07 Twice Around The Island.m4a
08 Ducky.m4a
09 All I Do Is Dream of You.m4a
10 A Beautiful Lady In Blue.m4a
11 Have You Ever Been Lonely.m4a
12 Cute Little Wiggle.m4a

Here is the whole thing for for convenience.