Thicke - When I Get You Alone - 2002

This is one of my favorite dance tracks in recent years. It never gets old to me. I always thought this track should have broken through more than it did. I think it had some success, but to me it is just ridiculous how perfect this song is. It has the great sample of "A Fifth Of Beethoven" which most people will recognize from "Saturday Night Fever" and then there are Robin Thicke's great blue-eyed soul vocals. This track is sure to get any dance floor moving.

I actually have two different 12 inch releases of this and the CD single. I've taken this rip from the CD single to save me some time.

Enjoy!

01 When I Get You Alone (Album Version).m4a
02 When I Get You Alone (Radio Edit).m4a
03 When I Get You Alone (Instrumental).m4a

Allan Sherman - The Drinking Man's Diet b/w The Laarge Daark Aardvark Song 7" - 1965

I and I'm sure many others were first exposed to Allan Sherman through his two Camp Granada songs, "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah" and the sequels. I heard the original song on the Dr. Demento show where it was a bit of a staple.

Since collecting records I've picked up a few of Allan Sherman's records. They are quite easy to find in thrift stores. He sold a lot of records and since they are comedy records of their time they end up being sent to the thrift stores instead of being handed down to new generations, much the way Barbra Streisand records litter the record bins of thrift store.


This the only single I have from Allan and both songs are of course very funny. "Drinking Man's Diet" doesn't even really feel too dated. I mean really, when has drinking and alcoholism gone out of style. Timeless.

Enjoy!

01 The Drinking Man's Diet.m4a
02 The Laarge Daark Aardvark Song.m4a

Scorpions - Send Me An Angel 7" - 1991

Thought I'd follow up Rusty's Mercury release with something else from Mercury of a different ilk. Actually that is just a coincidence.

By 1991 I wasn't really listening to Scorpions anymore. I did however love them as a youth. In fact the first rock concert I ever went to was to see Scorpions on their Love e At First Sting tour. I saw them at the Rosemont horizon with a then up and coming Bon Jovi opening for them. Bon Jovi had just released Runaway and were enjoying their first radio success. They were okay, but it was nothing to talk about the following day at school. What I and my brother and my friend did talk about was the cool stage with the green lights and how the band rose up in some sort of elevator thing. It was all pretty incredible for a 13 year old boy. They of course rocked the place like a hurricane and I loved them even more.

in 1991 they had pretty much settled into the power ballad thing like so many other bands and released this song. Like I said it didn't even register on my radar at the time, but in looking back it is a decent song. With this record you also get a fun Russian version of "Wind Of Change" another one of their ballads. By the way Scorpions are still rocking. In fact they released a really good record "Humanity Hour, Volume 1" this last year. It definitely has ingredients of Scorpions from the early 80's while also updating their sound a bit. If you have a chance to give it a listen I think you'll find that if you were a fan back in the day you'd like the new record as well.



Enjoy!

01 Send Me An Angel.m4a
02 Wind Of Change (Russian Version).m4a

Rusty Draper - Magic Circle/Muskrat Ramble 7" - 1950

Here is another person I knew nothing about before writing this post. Rusty Draper has a nice long bio on allmusic.com which tracks his career from the 20's up through his death in 2003.

In trying to research this record I found sheet music for this song and the website dated it as 1950. That is what I have dated the song, but in reading allmusic.com it appears that he didn't sign to Mercury until 1952. So somewhere someone is wrong and I have no idea who. I'm going with what I initially found and I'm probably wrong, because allmusic is usually pretty good.

Anyways Rusty Draper is categorized as a country singer with some crossover success. I would have never really guessed that from these sides. I don't hear much country in here at all. I just hear fun pop music. In fact I find these songs so fun and happy that I have listened to them many many times in the past couple weeks. The happiness is almost hypnotic the way walking down Disneyland's Mainstreet USA is hypnotic. It's pure Americana.

Enjoy!

01 Magic Circle.m4a
02 Muskrat Ramble.m4a

Gloria Gaynor - Let's Mend What's Been Broken 12" - 1981

In 1979 Gloria Gaynor had a huge hit with "I Will Survive". That is probably one of the greatest disco songs ever. The success of that track helped propel Gloria along for a few more years and in 1981 she released this mid tempo R&B number. It doesn't quite have the fire of "I Will Survive" but what else does. And to be honest it really isn't trying to duplicate that song, which I do have to give her credit for. Sometimes it is annoying and a little disappointing when someone has a huge hit and tries to follow up that hit with something that is pretty much more of the same. This isn't that. This may not be one for frequent plays, but it might be nice to hear every now and again for variety.

Enjoy!

Let's Mend What's Been Broken.mp3

Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind 12" - 1988

Pet Shop boys are one of those acts where sometimes I can totally dig on the disco vibe and get into them and then there are other times I just can't. I don't think I can explain why. In fat there aren't too many groups that I have that sort of response to. Sometimes I listen and think everything sounds the same and is kind of bland. Other times I find that sort of calming disco very appealing. It all seems super lush and hypnotic.

Here they take a wonderfully emotional ballad and give it the Pet Shop boys synth dance treatment. I do enjoy listening to this one from time to time. The fact that the lyrics are so good don't hurt things. By the way if you want to hear a great version of "Always On My Mind" I suggest Willie Nelson's version. Simply sublime.

Enjoy!

01 Always On My Mind.mp3
02 Always On My Mind.mp3
03 Do I Have To?.mp3

The Timelords - Doctorin' The Tardis - 1988

I don't think I've mentioned anywhere on this blog before that I've been a huge Doctor Who fan since I was very little. I grew up in Chicago which was one of the first cities in America to start running Doctor Who in the late 70's or so. It ran on the PBS station there Sunday nights.

I loved this song when it came out and bought the CD single when I was in college. I didn't have a CD player in high school. Later I found this 12" record. For ease and for extra bonus for you I have pulled this rip from the CD which has "What Time Is Love". This one may be strictly for fans of The Doctor, but honestly I think the track works as a good dance track as well.

Enjoy!

01 Doctorin' The Tardis.mp3
02 Doctorin' The Tardis (12" Mix).mp3
03 What Time Is Love (The KLF Original Version).mp3
04 Gary Joins The JAMS.mp3
05 Doctorin' The Tardis (Instrumental).mp3

Shinehead - Gimme No Crack 12" - 1988

Here are 5 fun mixes of Shinehead's 1988 release "Gimme No Crack". When I first heard this record all I could think of was that is was borrowing heavily from Boogie Down Productions. Also of course Public Enemy comes to mind with the first couple lines which are basically right from "Bring The Noise".

Even with the similarities the song still has enough of it's own enjoyable Jamaican flavor to stay on my ipod at all times. Maybe it will be added to yours as well.

Enjoy!

01 Gimme No Crack (Dance Hall).mp3
02 Gimme No Crack (Extended Dance Mix).mp3
03 Gimme No Crack (Afro's Edit).mp3
04 Gimme No Crack (Extended Afro Version).mp3
05 Gimme No Crack (Afro's Instrumental).mp3

Janet Jackson - The Pleasure Principle 12" - 1986

Janet Jackson's "Control" and "Rhythm Nation" are amazing records. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis have some of the finest production work on those records. If you haven't done so recently seek out those records and listen to them from start to finish with some head phones and drown yourself in the glorious textures and rhythms.

"Rhythm Nation" in particular is kind of mind blowing. It seems so ahead of it's time and still just sounds great.

This 12 inch club record was from "Control" in 1986 and has some fun tracks sure to keep the dance floor grooving at any serious 80's dance party. Have fun the the other tracks making your own mashups. Some day I will venture into that world, but for now I'll leave that to those with more time on their hands.

Enjoy!

01 The Pleasure Principle (Long Vocal).m4a
02 The Pleasure Principle (A Cappella).m4a
03 The Pleasure Principle (12" Dub).m4a
04 The Pleasure Principle (7" Vocal).m4a

Run DMC - You Be Illin' 12" - 1984

Yeah that's right, Run DMC. I know there were earlier rappers and many of them get the titles of godfathers or rap or some other nonsense, but let's face it, it was these guys who really deserve the title. These guys wrote raps that were so good. So memorable. And they did that crossover thing that really no other act could do. I'm not talking "Walk This Way", though that certainly cemented their crossover appeal, just about everything they did worked as a pop song. They didn't just ramble on with 8 minute dance rap records. They were writing pop rap tunes, which no one was really doing. These guys set the blueprint for everybody that followed. I'm sure that could be a controversial statement and someone is going to strongly disagree with me, but that is fine. All I know is that I had been listening to rap since the early 80's. Grandmaster Flash and the ilk, but it wasn't until Run DMC where I was remembering the raps and I don't mean I remembered them after sitting down and memorizing them. They just wrote memorable lyrics/raps that just got into your head. True talents. True artist. True pioneers.

Enjoy!

01 You Be Illin' (Remix).mp3
02 Hit It Run.mp3
03 You Be Illin' (Instrumental).mp3

The Puppets - The Way Of Life 12" - 1983

Synthalicious. That's what this is. I love finding this records of 80's synth pop that I totally missed when I was a kid. It's like going back in a time machine, but to a parallel universe. Things look and sound the same, but are different. This is a record that could have only existed in the 80's. It bleeds 80's synth. So scoop it up and inject it in you ears for a little 80's flashback.

I don't know much about The Puppets. I do think they had a little success with this track somewhere in the world. Rightly deserved. It seems like it would play well in a club in 1983. There is just enough Duran Duran and Culture Club in there to give it some juice.

If you feel guilty for some strange reason about downloading the tracks head on over to ebay where someone is selling the record for cheap. You've go until August 18th. Good luck.

Enjoy!

01 The Way Of Life (Dance Mix).mp3
02 The Way Of Life (Vocal).mp3
03 The Way Of Life (Instrumental).mp3

Hollywood Sings - 1982

This one digs deep into the past with a bunch of songs from old Hollywood movies. I think a lot of these songs are probably not too easy to find. I could be wrong, but who knows.

Some of the more interesting tracks are Jimmy Stewart singing. I bet a lot of you didn't know Jimmy Stewart sang. In the early 30's when sound was still such a novelty just about every star in Hollywood was made to sing at some point. Jimmy was no exception. Another one in the same vain is Rudolph Valentino. I never knew he sang, but here you have it.

The other fantastic one is the Marx Brothers song "Hurray for Captain Spaulding" from Animal Crackers.

Many of the others are interesting and are from films that I haven't seen and chances are you haven't seen either so they are probably new. Have fun with this one walking through Hollywood history.

Enjoy!

01 Happy Feet - Paul Whiteman's Ryhth Boys (Bing Crosby, Harry Barris, Al Rinker).m4a
02 Toot Toot Tootsie, Goodbye - Al Jolson.m4a
03 Johnny - Marlene Dietrich.m4a
04 Day After Day - James Stewart.m4a
05 Can Broadway Do Without Me_- Clayton, Jackson & Durante.m4a
06 If You Haven't Got Love - Gloria Swanson.m4a
07 Doin' The New Low Down - Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson.m4a
08 Keep Your Sunny Side Up - Janet Gaynor.m4a
09 Kashmiri Love Song (Pale Hands I Love) - Rudolph Valentino.m4a
10 Broadway Melody - Charles King.m4a
11 Puttin' On The Ritz - Harry Richman.m4a
12 How Long Will It Last - Joan Crawford.m4a
13 Hooray For Captain Spaulding - Groucho and Zeppo Marx with Margaret Dumont.m4a
14 Just Like A Butterfly That's Caught In The Rain - Helen Morgan.m4a
15 I Love Louisa - Fred Astaire.m4a
16 We Can't Get Along - Ginger Rogers.m4a
17 You've Got That Thing - Maurice Chevalier.m4a
18 Beyond The Blue Horizon - Heannette Macdonald.m4a
19 The White Dove - Lawrence Tibbett.m4a
20 Yes, Yes, My Baby Said Yes, Yes! - Eddie Cantor.m4a

Hollywood Sings Part 1.zip
Hollywood Sings Part 2.zip

Double J - Bless The Funk 12" - 1989

Here's a little old school for ya. This has an Eric B & Rakim flavor to it. Give it a listen and you'll hopefully hear what I'm talking about. This one will get your toe tapping and maybe even your booty shakin'.

This was produced by 45 King who has a long list of production credits. Check out his website. You'll notice on there that 45 King did some work with Eric B & Rakim on "Microphone Fiend" and "Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em", which is really no surprise when you compare the tracks.

Enjoy!

01 Bless The Funk.mp3
02 Bless The Funk (Instrumental).mp3

Richard Hayman - Havana in Hi-Fi - 1957

This record is good on all accounts. Great cover. Excellent condition as far as how it sounds. The music is top notch as well as far as easy listening music with a Latin flare goes. This is from 1957. The 50's were a great time for this big production easy listening records that were made to really show off your new stereo hi-fi. This of course is one of those records and as you can see has "hi-fi" in the title.

Richard Hayman does a great job here conducting and arranging. Richard Hayman is famous for conducting the Boston Pops for over 30 years.

Highlights are "Rhapsodero", "My Hopeful Heart", "Tropical Merengue" and "Love And The World Loves With You", at least those are my highlights.

Enjoy!

01 Rhapsodero.m4a
02 My Hopeful Heart.m4a
03 Cordoba.m4a
04 Tropical Merengue.m4a
05 Maria-La-O.m4a
06 Caminito.m4a
07 La Comparsa.m4a
08 I Won't Stand In Your Way.m4a
09 Love And The World Loves With You.m4a

The Flirts - Passion 12" - 1982

The Flirts are the product of Bobby Orlando. He did all the production and played the instruments and then brought in pretty and kind of generic girls to sing the songs and pose on the covers. The vocals are the weakest thing her. The track starts off as a very promising club track. When the vocals kick in it is a little disappointing, but overall the song is okay. For my money the "Special import remix" is the winner here because it isn't marred as badly by the lame vocals.

Enjoy!

01 Passion.mp3
02 Passion (Special Import Remix).mp3

Miami Sound Machine - Conga 12" - 1986

I never was into Miami Sound Machine or Gloria Estefan as a kid. Too mainstream and poppy for my tastes back then. When I was in college, though Gloria released Abriendo Puertas in 1995. I heard it in a record store and had to ask what the album was. I instantly bought it and fell in love with it. Well, that helped open my mind to her earlier mainstream pop work. And now that I'm a complete sucker for just about everything 80's this one is a classic, a great mixture of American pop and Latin rhythms. Here you get an extended dance mix and an instrumental version.

Enjoy!

01 Conga (Special Dance Mix by Pablo Flores).m4a
02 Conga (Instrumental).m4a

Newcleus - Let's Jam 12" - 1985

Ahhhhh the soothing sounds of old school electro funk hip hop. It's like an old friend.

Good ole Newcleus were the kings of songs with Jam in the title. "Jam On The Revenge", "Jam On It" and of course this one "Let's Jam", the third in the Jam trilogy.

Enjoy!

01 Let's Jam.m4a
02 Let's Jam (Dub Version).m4a

David Rose - The Stripper and Other Fun Songs For The Family - 1962

This record is great for many many reasons. The title is great. The jacket is great. The music is great. Who would have thought that that quintessential stripper music you hear in movies and TV shows was actually called "The Stripper". The other great thing about the record and that song in particular is that it was written by David Rose who wrote many a TV theme and the one I like to point out to people is of course the theme to Little House On The Prairie. I think that is a great piece of trivia, that the guy who wrote the music from the sweet wholesome Little House On The Prairie also wrote the most famous stripper song.

He also wrote "Holiday For Strings" which is one of the all time great easy listening atomic age lounge tunes. You'll find versions of that on many a lounge compilation.

The rest of the album isn't so stripper-esque ad the title would indicate. The other songs are "Other Fun Songs For The Family". I'm guessing by that title that all the songs except "The Stripper" were meant for family listening. "The Stripper" was reserved for mom and dad.

By the way David Rose did a follow up to the record called "More! More! More! Music Of The Stripper", which one day I hope to post as well.

Enjoy!

01 The Stripper.m4a
02 Night Train.m4a
03 What Is This Thing Called Love_.m4a
04 Mood Indigo.m4a
05 Banned In Boston.m4a
06 St. James Infirmary.m4a
07 Soft Lights And Sweet Music.m4a
08 Black And Tan Fantasy.m4a
09 Harlem Nocturne.m4a
10 Sophisticated Lady.m4a
11 Blue Prelude.m4a
12 My Heart Belongs To Daddy.m4a

David Rose.zip

The Dance - In Lust 12" - 1980

I'm a sucker for good record covers and this one was a must have. As it turns out the music isn't too bad. "In Lust" would be great in a dark club and I'm sure that was the intended venue. "Into The Black" is okay. Probably not as good as the title would have you hope. There is obviously a gothy sex vibe going on in these songs, which I think had a small niche in the 80's. I think The Dance was kind of a fore runner to My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult which took this to the extreme and I think did it better than anybody. These two tracks are much tamer, but you can see that they helped pave the way for the end of the decade.
Enjoy!

01 In Lust.mp3
02 Into The Black.mp3

Sir Mix-A-Lot - I'm A Trip - 1986

Long before Mix-A-Lot sang rapped about big butts he was putting out the jams in an old school fashion. His success in the mainstream I remember at the time being somewhat surrealistic, because I had been listening to and following him long before "Baby's Got Back" invaded the public consciousness in the spring of 1992.

Mix-A-Lot had a slightly different vibe than other rappers in the mid 80's. He wasn't East Coast and he wasn't quite West Coast. He was from Seattle, which I know is on the West Coast, but he didn't sound like Ice T or NWA. He wasn't doing the whole gangsta rap thing. The songs still hold up today as far as I am concerned. It is a testament to his rhyme writing abilities. "I'm a Trip" is of course the featured track here, but "Square Dance Rap" is also quite tasty.

Enjoy!

01 I'm a Trip (Total Trip Mix).mp3
02 I'm A Trip (Radio Edit).mp3
03 Trippin in the Studio.mp3
04 Square Dance Rap (Power Mix).mp3
05 I Want To Freak.mp3
06 My Studio.mp3

Anything Goes: Lincoln Center Theater Recording - 1988

I've already posted another record of songs from Anything Goes. If you haven't seen a production of this musical, do yourself a favor and do. It is fun in the classic American musical theater tradition and it's Cole Porter. How can you go wrong. Just look at the track listing. There is just great song after great song all in this one production. Unbelievable.

This was a record from the 80's and has a great cast and the production is top notch as well. I'm sure this is on CD or available for download somewhere as well. It is too good not to be.

Enjoy!

01 Prelude.m4a
02 I Get A Kick Out Of You.m4a
03 There's No Cure Like Travel.m4a
04 Bon Voyage.m4a
05 You're The Top.m4a
06 Easy To Love.m4a
07 I Want To Row On The Crew.m4a
08 Sailor's Chantey.m4a
09 Friendship.m4a
10 It's De-lovely.m4a
11 Anything Goes.m4a
12 Entr'Acte.m4a
13 Public Enemy Number One.m4a
14 Blow, Gabriel, Blow.m4a
15 Goodbye, Little Dream, Goodbye.m4a
16 Be Like The Bluebird.m4a
17 All Through The Night.m4a
18 The Gypsy In Me.m4a
19 Buddie, Beware.m4a
20 I Get A Kick Out Of You_Anything Goes (Reprise).m4a

Anything Goes (1988 Lincoln Center Theater Recording) (Vinyl).zip

Spandau Ballet - Lifeline 12" - 1983

Probably like most people Spandau Ballet just means the classic single "True". That is what they meant to me forever. That song by the way seems to be one of those songs that people either love or hate. I'm on the love side of the argument. Anyways, in my record collecting I've had a chance to listen to some of their other releases. Here is a fun dance track from 1983. Very upbeat and very 80's. I don't remember this being a hit in the world I grew up in, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a hit amongst club goers or on some foreign charts. It is a pretty great track and here are 3 versions to choose from to add to your next 80's dance party.

Enjoy!

01 Lifeline (Club Mix).mp3
02 Lifeline (Dub Version).mp3
03 Lifeline (Acapella).mp3

Dr Hook - Sylvia's Mother/Makin' It Natural 7"

Here's a moderately fun release from Dr. Hook. "Makin' It Natural" is the track I recommend here. Plenty of 70's drug references and a hippie vibe to make this mellow track worth a listen. Make sure to stick around until the very end when someone says "Far Out". The line reminds me of The Brady Bunch.

Enjoy!

01 Sylvia's Mother.m4a
02 Makin' It Natural.m4a