Banana Splits - We're The Banana Splits - 1968

Remember the Banana Splits? I think if you have the cable Channel Boomerang you might be able to still catch episodes. We had Boomerang a few years ago and so my kids were exposed to the fun that was the Banana Splits.

A little piece of trivia for people is that Richard Donner (Superman, Goonies, Lethal Weapon) directed the running live action serial named Danger Island that ran on The Banana Splits. That thing always kind of weirded me out.

When I found this record the only song I knew off the top of my head was the Tra La La song, which was in the opening credits. I don't know if any of these other tracks were on the show or if they were done just for this record. I kind of don't really care, because I'm just so thrilled by the actual quality of the songs, so nostalgia doesn't play much into my appreciation of the record. The songs sound like there were done by a couple different bands or performers. About half the songs are bubble gum pop ala the Archies. But then the other half of the songs are 60's psychedelic and soul goodness. "I'm Gonna Find A Cave" really cooks. This may be a bold statement, but it reminds me of a little Sly and The Family Stone. "Doin' The Banana Split" also is pretty great. I don't know who the lead vocals is on these tracks, but this guy is simply great.

The funny thing is that coming off real jams like tracks 2 and 3 you get this silly "Toy Piano Melody" song, which just sounds like it belongs on a kid's show. It so doesn't jive with the other songs.

The on "Soul" we're back to the great soulful tracks. This song stands on it's own. I would never think of connecting this song with a kid's cartoon show. This may be the best song on the record.

"The Tra La La Song" probably comes in 2nd as far as best songs, but mostly becase of the huge nostalgia factor.

The last of the really good R&B/Soul numbers is track 9 "You're The Lovin' End". Great vocals, and a great band behind it all.

I've been focusing on the songs that have the Soul bent to them, but like I said there are song with totally different vibes. The other one I suggest checking out is track 11 "Two Ton Tessie" which reminds me of something Ray Davies and The Kinks might have been recording at this same time. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

These handful of songs are really great treasures that I never expected to find on this record and I think you might feel the same way.

Enjoy!

01 We're The Banana Splits.m4a
02 I'm Gonna FInd A Cave.m4a
03 This Spot.m4a
04 Doin' The Banana Split.m4a
05 Toy Piano Melody.m4a
06 Soul.m4a
07 The Tra La LA Song (One Banana, Two Banana).m4a
08 Wait Til Tomorrow.m4a
09 You're The Lovin' End.m4a
10 In New Orleans.m4a
11 Two-Ton Tessie.m4a
12 Don't Go Away - Go-Go Girl.m4a

Here's the whole thing Banana Splits - We're The Banana Splits.zip

Pat Susuki - Pat Suzuki - 1958

Here's a great record from Pat Suzuki from 1958. This little lady really has some pipes. She's been pretty much lost to the sands of time as far as I can tell. Last year I posted another record from her and wrote a few words about her. Check that out here. I also had a brief mention of her a few weeks ago when I posted some clips from Charlie's Angels.

The record has some familiar standards and Pat turns in some fine performances.

Enjoy!

01 The Song Is You.m4a
02 Star Dust.m4a
03 Black Coffee.m4a
04 Anything Goes.m4a
05 I've Grown Accustomed To His Face.m4a
06 Daddy.m4a
07 My Heart Belongs To Daddy.m4a
08 As Time Goes By.m4a
09 How High The Moon.m4a
10 The Lady Is A Tramp.m4a
11 Be My Love.m4a
12 I'll Never Smile Again.m4a

Pat Suzuki - Pat Suzuki.zip

Cosmetics - The Crack 12" - 1982

I don't know much or really anything about the Cosmetics. This is the only record I have by them. As you can see by the big sticker on the cover, they were on IRS which generally had cool alternative bands.

"The Crack" kind of reminds me of The Clash "Combat Rock" era. It has that sort of punk meets disco and funk that the Clash was doing around this time. Maybe even a hint of Tom Tom Club in there as well. I think that is considered a New York influence. I could be wrong on that, though.

I like the song "The Crack", but I have to admit that the edited short version is plenty for me. The long version may be a tad too long. It's not like the song has a lot a places to go and explore and so you might find the long version monotonous. I just keep a copy of the edited version on my ipod.

Enjoy!

01 The Crack (Long Version).m4a
02 Caligraphy.m4a
03 The Crack (Edited Version).m4a

Jack Wagner - All I Need - 1984

Yesterday was MLK day. I had the day off with my family and so we went out to lunch. While sitting in the Fuddruckers I noticed that on TV was a soap opera and I believe one of the actors on TV was old Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner). I could be wrong, but my wife also thought it was him. We got into a conversation about being a soap actor and playing the same character for a gazillin years and such. Anyways, I thought because of that experience it would be a good time to share Jack's 80's musical effort "All I Need".

This album is a perfect example of filler. The single "All I Need" still is a pretty good song in my book. When I digitized this record over the holidays, I turned that song up pretty loud and both my wife and I were singing our little hearts out. I was going to say we put it up to 11, but that would be a lie. Jack Wagner doesn't go to 11. More like 7 or 8. However most of the other tracks pale by comparison. The production is cheesy. The lyrics are pretty weak. All in all it sounds like they threw the rest of the album together in no time at all knowing that it would sell based on the strength of the single. They were probably right.

So step into the way back machine and remember those days of old when Frisco Jones and Felicia we getting into spy adventures on General hospital and when you were singing along with "All I Need".

01 Premonition.m4a
02 What You Don't Know.m4a
03 Whenever Hearts Collide.m4a
04 Fighting The Nights.m4a
05 All I Need.m4a
06 Make Me Believe It.m4a
07 Sneak Attack.m4a
08 After The Fact.m4a
09 Tell Him.m4a
10 Lady Of My Heart.m4a

Jack Wagner - All I Need.zip

Enjoy!

The Bo-Keys/The Royal Pendaltons Split 7"

Norton records is one of those record labels where you can buy records based completely on the reputation of the label. I've picked up many records from bands that I hadn't previously heard based solely on the fact that the record was a Norton record. They know what they are doing over there. That is for sure.

I should note that I first heard The Black Lips and King Khan and BBQ by picking up their contributions to this Norton Rolling Stones series.

Over the past few years they've been releasing 7" singles as part of a series of Rolling Stones covers. I'm not sure if they've collected these onto a CD or an LP, but I think they may have. I, however, have tried picking them all up on record. If you're ever in a record shop and you see one or some of these records, go ahead and make the purchase. Some are better than others, but really there isn't a bad record in the whole series. I think I've to this record lined up to share, because it was one of the last ones in the series that I bought this past year.

The Bo-Keys turn in a great version of Congratulations. Easily as good if not maybe a little better than the original. Before hearing this song I really wasn't familiar with the original. After hearing this I had to check out the original. That is one of the great things about this series. A lot of the sons chosen to cover are a little more obscure, so I've been turned onto some of those early Stones Songs that don't get much radio play. The Royal Pendaltons do a cover of Tell Me, which is okay. Not bad, but not great.
Enjoy!

01 Congratulations.m4a
02 Tell Me.m4a

Flashdance 7" - Irene Cara & Helen St. John - 1983

I feel like I'm really slacking on the blog. Not a great way to start off the year. Work has just been really crazy. The frustrating thing is that I did a bunch of prep work and digitizing over the holidays, and now that I'm back at work I haven't had the time to do the final things like uploading and writing of entries.

So I'm going with a backup that I had set up a long time ago. It's good to have some posts ready to go as back ups for just these circumstances.

So today it is Irene Cara's song for Flashdance. I really liked her song for Fame even more if I'm being honest. The B-Side is a fairly forgettable instrumental. Maybe if you saw the movie it would mean something to you. Myself, I've actually never sat at watched Flashdance through. I've seen bits and pieces on TV, but never the whole thing. I don't know if I ever will either. There are just too many other movies that I know are better than this movie to watch.

So that's it. Short, and maybe not so sweet. But at least it is a little something to tide you over for a few more days.

Enjoy!

01 Flashdance... What A Feeling - Irene Cara.m4a
02 Love Theme From _Flashdance - Helen St. John.m4a

Thee Mighty Caesars - Cowboys Are Square 7" - 2003

Okay, I'm going to kind of be bold and daring to start off the new year by doing a post on something relatively new. I picked this record up just this past year. I'm sure if you are one who shops in the kind of record stores that carry 7 inch records you should be able to find this record. Might take a little effort, but I'm sure it is still out there. I'm sure it is really easy to find on the internet and if I wasn't lazy I'd find a link for you. Unfortunately for you I am feeling lazy and am going to leave that chore up to you.

The Mighty Caesars, one of Billy Childish's many projects. If you know his work, then there are really no surprises here. Both cuts are typical Childish garage rock. Rowdy, rough and simple. I prefer "Ain't Got None" the best of the two tracks. The drums are great. They sound like a caveman is just pounding away with reckless abandon. Toward the end the guitar screeches and whines like a sick animal, but in a good way. Always a little off and not quite fitting the confines of musical rules. The song on a whole is a good hoof stomper. I imagine it would get a club jumping. Hopefully one day I'll have the privilege of catching Billy.

Enjoy!

01 Cowboys Are Square.m4a
02 Ain't Got None.m4a

Angels In Paradise

Just thought I'd share an odd little thing I came across this weekend. I've been busy in the SAP music lair digitizing records and photography covers and doing all the magic that goes into this blog. In the process I stumbled across some TV credits to the two part season 2 premier of Charlie's Angels, "Angels In Paradise". I loved the Angels as a kid and still get some enjoyment of watching an episode from time to time. This is a very memorable episode because it introduces Kris Monroe, Cheryl Ladd's character. Anyways the gals have to head to Hawaii to save Charlie's life and of course guns, cars and bikinis ensue. But that isn't the reason I'm writing about this. The funny thing is that in this episode (you only have to check out part 1) there are three artists whose records I digitized this past week. They of course will be featured in upcoming posts this year. They are Cheryl Ladd, Don Ho and Pat Suzuki. That's right Pat plays a massage parlor madame.

You can catch all three of them between the first and second commercial break. In watching the episode I came across this scene with Kris on the beach where a thug shoots a girl on a surfboard. The scene is a day scene, yet the inserts of the guy shooting are clearly at night or on a stage. I haven't seen such offensively bad continuity since Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space". I had to share the clip with my facebook friends and so I thought I'd share it here to, just for the laughs.

Enjoy!



Here's Pat.



And here's done working his acting chops playing himself. Who knew that even Don Ho knew Charlie and would do anything to help him out.



And lastly check out this not so awkward introduction of Kris into the show. Check out the elegant dialogue crafting. Sabrina's lines connecting Kris to Jill are priceless and Kris's smooth explanation of Jill racing doesn't feel forced at all. Enjoy!

Why Does The Sun Shine? - Morning mix 01.02.09

It's a brand new year and it is time to start writing about something other than holiday music. Today we will kick it off with a good ole ipod playlist. It was a good variety of songs today.

But before getting into the song chit chat there are a few other items of business to take care of. The first is I wanted to thank everyone for all the comments and feedback this past year. 2008 was really special because of everything that happened on this blog. It has been even more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.

Secondly, I wanted to let everyone know that now that the holidays have past I have had a little extra time and I have filled it with more record digitizing. I haven't digitized a record since July, which is a pretty long time for me. I've banked a few more Christmas records for next year. Still lots to go on that front, though. Also I've done over 30 LP's for upcoming posts. I'm going to try my best to avoid copyright issues and so I've been trying to focus on the old and the obscure. I'm also trying to build up a catalog of actual LP's to post as apposed to singles. Don't worry I still have plenty of those already digitized and ready to go, so you'll still be seeing those spread out over the coming months. I've set a goal for myself to digitize 100 new LP's for the blog in the next few weeks so that I have a good arsenal of things to share with everyone this year. So if all goes well, this should be a great year.

Also I wanted to let everyone know that I had my first interview with a magazine called Copper Press. I didn't quite make the hard print, but I did make the online digital supplemental. For me that is pretty cool. And I got some of my photos published as well, which is also pretty cool. Check it out. It is a pretty cool magazine that focuses on arts and music.

This is the main page. http://www.copperpress.com/

And here is the link to the supplemental. My interview starts on page 8.
http://www.copperpress.com/new/suppdf/supp7.pdf

Okay, now to the music blabbering. Today's list was the following.

In Da Club (Radio Edit) - 50 Cent
King without a Crown - Matisyahu
RACE TO DIE - Life Sentence
Papa Was A Rollin' Stone - The Temptations
Life And Death - Michael Giacchino
An Oak Tree - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly
Strut - Sheena Easton
Word Up (12") - Cameo
Boys Don't Cry (New Voice Club Version) - The Cure
And I'm Aching - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Van Lear Rose - Loretta Lynn
Kitty Empire - Big Black
Achy Breaky Heart - Billy Ray Cyrus
Rescue Me - Buckcherry
April Skies - The Jesus And Mary Chain
Una Vez Tuve Tu Amor - Los Idiotas
Surrender - Cheap Trick
Gravel Road - Clutch
On Bended Knee - Boyz II Men
I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - Randy Kohrs, Richard Bailey, Tim Crouch, Jay Weaver, John Rembold
Why Does The Sun Shine (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas) - They Might Be Giants
Bleed On - Dwarves
Ave Mundi Spes Maria - The Benedictine Monks Of Santo Domingo De Silos
Stacye - The Reatards
This Wheel's On Fire - Siouxsie and the Banshees

First off I'd like to point out that this list shows that I really don't edit myself. How many people do you know that would publish a list with Dwarves along side "Achy Breaky Heart", but hey what can I say. The song is a guilty pleasure.

Don't know what what else to write about 50 Cent that hasn't been said a thousand times over, so I'll just say that In Da Club track from a few years ago may have gotten overplayed, but it is banging and it's nice to bust out everyone once in a while.

If you haven't checked out Matisyahu yet, please do. I love his album Youth from 2006. Matisyahu is an orthodox Jew who raps and sings reggea. His lyrics a great. Sophisticated and thought provoking. Spiritual and uplifting. Check him out on Youtube.

Race To Die is a great track from Life Sentence. I've written about this record before. Great hard core from the second half of the 80's out of Chicago. Read more about them here.

Riffing on that death theme is Life And Death from the "Lost" soundtrack. This is a beautiful theme that comes back again and again on that show for the real emotional moments. I can't listen to it enough. I can't watch that show enough. While I'm on the subject I just wanted to say to Lost fans out there that I've been lucky enough to get some sneak peaks at some episodes for the upcoming season and I just have to say it is going to be awesome. Mind blowing greatness.

Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly is one of my new favorite bands. I kind of discovered them this past fall and I'm really digging on them. This track is from their album The Chronicles Of A Bohemian Teenager and has elements that remind me of some of the jazzy Minutemen tracks on Double Nickels on The Dime.

I've also written about Cameo before here on the blog. Today when I was listening to the track I noticed this sound effect that sounds kind of like one of those droplet sound effects on your computer. If you haven't listened to the 12" mix in a while, give it a spin and pay attention about a minute in. It kind of cracks me up.

The Boys Don't Cry track is from a two record set from 2007 of rare Cure tracks. Look for it in record stores. There are some great mixes on there.

Okay, now I'm just taking too long at this. I need to skip down the list. April Skies, awesome track. Been totally grooving on early JAMC the past few months. April Skies is from Darklands. Cheap Trick, always great. Gravel Road from Clutch's 2005 record is the best thing on there. Delta Bluesy with some rock and roll punch. On Bended Knee, one of the better Boyz II Men tracks from their classic record Boyz II Men II.

Great, now I'm getting to the end. I have to just say that this They Might be Giants track is great. Back in the day I bought the soundtrack to Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego just for this track. I was very excited a few years ago when I picked up an educational record only to discover that it had the original version of this song. And the good news to you at home is that I've finally digitized that record and it will make an appearance here in the coming weeks of months. It is a fun kids record about space.

Bleed On by Dwarves is from a split 7" that will also be coming up in the future. I'm torn about whether I should post the cover to the record. If you're curious to know what that is I'm sure you can do a google search and find it.

Lastly I think I'll point out Stayce by The Reatards, which is essentially early Jay Reatard. Much of Jay's early work is wild and out of control. Some may even say juvenile. This song, Stacye, I think points to some of the catchy song craft in Jay's future. Simply a classic song.


Itunes wasn't so good this time around with the iMix. Only 7 of the tracks showed up, but here they are anyway.