Here is an interesting item, which is also a fun snapshot of 1979. JAM Creative Productions is a production house for jingles, background music, and much more, and has been dominating from their Dallas headquarters for over 50 years! (By the way, the name comes from the initials of the founders, a married couple.) They've had an incredible career of supplying high-quality jingles and music around the world.
These promotional sorts of LP's are always fun, if for no other reason than because you were never supposed to hear them, as they were never available in stores. Instead, this extremely well-made album serves as a portfolio for everything the company could do. It would've gone to program directors and heads of radio stations, for them to evaluate their advertising needs. You know as well as I do from your youth that jingles and call-letter identification could make or break a radio station, as it gave them a sense of identity.
Another compelling part of this record is how "1979" it is. That was a weird time. Disco was trying to be put to pasture, and the New Wave hadn't yet set in, so the culture in America was trying to figure out what the eventual 80's would sound like, and there was an extension of the mellow "singer/songwriter" vibe that was so big in the earlier part of the 70's. As such, the album would fit in nicely in the "WKRP" era in sound.
Another fun thing is one of the narrators, whom people of that generation will recognize. It's Mason Adams, who had that homespun, Jimmy Stewart's Dad type of voice that you could never believe was lying to you, no matter what he said. We even had an LP of Halloween stories on this blog that he read. I always knew him as the voice on commercials: "With a name like Smucker's, it's GOT to be good." I kept thinking about how ironic that was, because, you know....JAM. And jellies.
Anyway, I have said enough times that this is an enjoyable listen. I relish the days where real singers sung with real instruments and real string sections and real everything. The average 8-year-old ear doesn't care, but to anyone with sense, it sounds warm and real and like it exists in the actual world. Sure, it was doing it the hard way, but the hard way is usually the best way. Unless you are doing brain surgery or something. Use the robot for that.
Here's another one of those sorts of things that you just can't find anywhere else (and I looked). After STAR WARS, every big movie seemed to have their own book-and-record, read-along condensed version for kids, but there could also be the long-playing version that skipped the book and the need to "turn the page when you hear this sound." This grown-up version used audio from the actual film, too.
This is the latter version, and in place of turning the page, it actually has new audio recorded by Lorne Greene as narration...which is actually strange, because he is often referring to his own character, which makes for some weird moments where Adama sound like he's speaking of himself in the third person.
This album walks through the initial movie that launched the TV series, in 49 minutes, and it's pretty well-done. It made me want to go back and watch it again, so it must have been doing something right.
Another interesting facet of this production is how it forced me to honestly evaluate the series as an adult, rather than when I was young and undiscerning: is it a shameless STAR WARS ripoff? Back in the day, kids did not sit around on the playground and complain that Glen Larson was ripping George Lucas off. Instead, we were thrilled to have new space fantasy to devour, while we waited for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.
Now, however, I can more clearly see some of the reasons George was upset. After all, some of his own people worked on it, and there are some issues and similarities, of course (suddenly we had another space "Saga"). I read that Lucas issued a laundry list of demans, including vehemently insisting the blasters "fire no beams," which explains why they always lit up at the ends. I am not sure how he could really claim a copyright on that, but whatever. In retrospect, Apollo and Starbuck are sort of two Han Solos, and if it were up to me, I would've dialed the music down quite a bit; it's one of the most obviously-borrowed items because it is just so bombastic. You do have rebels--in a sense--and enemy soldiers that all look alike, which they at least made into robots (before Lucas did, come to think of it). And then there are the dogfights, which are hard to defend in their similarity...again, the same folks worked on them, after all.
But there are lots of great original things to praise the series for as well. The cast is great; the designs are amazing (did I mention Ralph McQuarrie worked on the ships?), from the vehicles to the uniforms. The Cylons are incredible in every way, from appearance to their all-important unique sound. In the film, the Ovion insect people are a stroke of genius, and the writers invented a casino planet long before the Mouse ever stole the idea and wasted it.
I could go on, but I believe that the series has earned its place in history, and should stand as its own thing. Unfortunately, it succumbed to what I call the Curse of Television. Namely, a television series does not usually benefit from the luxury of having a beginning, middle, and definite ending. Instead, a series tries to last as long as it is allowed, and eventually, funding is cut long before anyone can envision a proper ending to the story, or a way to pull it off, and the show is cancelled. It's been a problem for literal decades.
.................and then, GALACTICA 1980 happened instead. The less said, the better.
One more thing, and this is hilarious--notice on the front cover of the album, despite all of the available artwork from the show, somebody thought it would be a good idea to swipe the MATTEL 12-INCH ACTION FIGURE ARTWORK for their painting. After all, Cylons probably look exactly like that, right? With the huge chest light and plastic gun beam...and giant backpack push-button sticking up? It would be a lot of trouble to go watch the show, or ask for more reference photos, right?
Here is something I ran across that you won't find anywhere else, and it isn't on YouTube or anywhere to be found (you will see why in a moment). This is a "DJ record," for lack of a better term. It's ingredients, to make your own mixes and jams. These were privately produced items, and never sold in stores. We have actually looked at one in the distant past on this very blog, because there is a Godzilla-themed one that is quite rare today!
Goodness, that was 15 years ago. Anyway, this record is divided into two sides, and instead of A and B, it's the ATARI and COMMODORE 64 sides:
Both sides begin with montages of samples and sound effects, followed by ten or eleven sampled beats, which are presented in SHORT LOCKED GROOVES. Get your brain around this--in the space of an inch or so, there are 10 (or 11) tiny bands which your stylus will not advance between. Thus, this record was nearly IMPOSSIBLE to convert, especially when you can't hear what you are recording until you are done. What madness is this? How did I resolve this one?
In the course of making this blog, I have had to solve some unusual and wacky problems from time to time. In this case, I set up a large magnifying lamp with bright built-in LED lights, clamped it to a nearby table, and used it to see the placement of the stylus as best I could with my failing eyes. And, it actually was successful. If you have ever messed with locked grooves, they can be quite stubborn to cooperate. But somehow, I got all of them!
The third band on each side is an original chiptune composition using the featured hardware. These are quite cool. The final and fourth band on each side is truly original indeed--they contain game programs for their respective systems, which can be recorded onto a cassette and uploaded, just like in the old days. It doesn't tell us what these games are, but huge points for the innovativeness of the designers here. Word of warning though, these tracks are unlistenable. The Commodore one sounds like you are actually inside an MRI machine.
All in all, this is a really fun release, despite the recording challenges. Kudos to the team who pulled this off, 26 years ago now! Enjoy.
Here is A JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, with no Rick Wakeman to be found anywhere. This is another classic from Leo the Lion Records, which was MGM's kid record label from the mid-60's until the mid-70's. Among the usual kiddie fare in their library are some real gems, including "The Official Adventures Of..." records, which include Superman, Batman (x2), The Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, and more, as well as the super-cool DINOSAURS! LP with Basil Rathbone that you can enjoy at this post.
This LP is actually much more than the title implies, containing dramatic condensations of 4 different classics, rounded out with THE TIME MACHINE, THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON, and WAR OF THE WORLDS....oddly enough, despite Jules Verne getting the title of the entire record, 75 percent of the stories were by H.G. Wells! All four of the books had been turned into movies by this point, too, so why elevate one above the others? You'd think the LP would've had a generic title like "THE GREATEST STORIES OF SCI-FI" or something...well, it was the 60's, so maybe THE GROOVIEST STORIES OF SCI-FI? ...No? Okay.
Apparently this is a rare one, because it's not on the YouTubes, or even on Ebay in the last seeable months. I found this while out of state at a flea market, and luckily picked it up. Enjoy!
Here is the conclusion of "four weeks of Halloween celebration in two posts," so let's get with it:
Scary Stories: Frightening Tales For Halloween (Rhino, 1994) - Sure, the cover art sucks, but don't let that fool you, this is actually a compilation, a sampler of sorts, of vintage spoken-word stories, including Boris Karloff, James Mason, and the great Nelson Olmsted, whose work we have shared here before. Lots of fun!
Boris Karloff - Tales Of The Frightened, Volumes 1 & 2 (1963) - Here is a pair of famous Karloff-narrated records, each containing short horror stories written by Michael Avallone (these were also published in book form with the same title, and at one time were even used in grade schools!). In a way, they all go in the same direction, but yet I couldn't stop listening. Clean (or complete) sources for these are hard to come by, and as always, I did lots of work to clean these up.
Vincent Price - A Graveyard Of Ghost Tales (1974) - And speaking of wonderful reading voices, here is a great LP of stories read by the master himself. This is a great audio-book-type of collection that is excellent for listening to while driving.
Sounds Of Halloween (Madacy, 1994) - "WARNING: This compact disc is not to be listened to in the dark. Listen to this disc at your own risk!" Also, get lost in the cover art....wow, just wow!How "metal" is that?
And finally, a surprise treat for our finale:
Count Chocula Goes To Hollywood
Monster Adventures In Outer Space
The Monsters Go Disco (General Mills, 1979)
Get this--in 1979, three different 6-inch cardboard records were available inside specially-marked boxes of the Monster Cereals (don't let anybody tell you they were cut from the backs of the boxes like in the old days, either). They feature some voice greats: Larry Kenney as Count Chocula, Bob McFadden as Franken Berry, and for these records, Peter Waldren filled in for Paul Frees as Boo Berry. They are as nuts, and as 1970's (I mean...disco!) as you would expect!
This month is flying by, so before it's too late, here comes our yearly barrage of Halloween goodness! These will be divided into two hefty packs. Part 1 will focus on vintage music, with three of my most-beloved compilations:
Silly, Scary Songs From The Sony Vault is one of my favorite compilations, and is packed full of 30's and 40's goodness, with some notable band leaders and talent that you'll probably recognize. It's not only fun to immerse yourself in vintage Halloween vibes, but it's also at times like being inside a Halloween-themed Fleischer cartoon.
Halloween Stompcompletely continues--seamlessly--where the last disc left off, with even more vintage Hallow's Eve goodness. Don't miss it!
And then there is Halloween Nuggets, which is 3 discs and 99 TRACKS of vintage 1960's tracks which fall under categories that people might call "obscure," "Halloween," or even "novelty," but which I call "every day listening." Here are the contents:
And with that, you have plenty of soundtrack for an entire party! So let's get this Halloween celebration underway:
Here is a gem that I didn't know existed. I stumbled onto it while buying something else on Discogs (I always look through the seller's store to see what else they have; it saves shipping anyroad). These are not your cheesy or ordinary, run-of-the-mill space sound effects that would later become more common...these are OG, hard-core jewels of newborn electronica, hearkening back to roomfuls of oscillators, filters, and endless dials below shining screens. In other words, made the old-fashioned way!
Whether you admire the Radiophonic Workshop, the electronic soundtrack to FORBIDDEN PLANET, or even if you just love electronic sounds, this is for you.
A few points of interest:
1) Interestingly, the track numbering just continues onto the second side, even continuing the track where side A left off.
2) At the start of side A, you may think nothing is happening at first, but then something becomes apparent, slowly, and from far away, and then, when you least expect it...WHAM! The "approaching missile or creature" hits you with an impact that has texture, which I figure must've involved the strings of a piano somehow (think Jango Fett's torpedoes in Episode II). I was hooked after this opening track.
3) The last track on side B--seemingly--ends in a locked groove. At least, I think it does. There were no issues at all with my copy otherwise, and I'd be shocked to think there was a skip right at the very extreme end of the last seconds of the last track...maybe the makers were having a little joke. I can't find any verification online, but that's what I believe is happening!
4) I would love to hear an audio adventure made using these tracks. Whereas later sound effects collections would focus more on short sounds (like laser guns), this one does a very good job supplying background, ambient, environmental sounds of what it would sound like both inside and outside of a spaceship.
This is one of those "you have to be a certain age" sorts of posts, but either way, if you don't know, at one time Wendy's was just behind McDonald's and Burger King in the Fast Food Wars, and wasn't the godawful, filthy roomful of non-food that it is now...especially post-COVID.
In that halcyon era of advertising, where some commercials finally attained the long-desired status of being mini-movies, sometimes even better than the programs they accompanied (imagine getting THAT excited about an ad on TV, actually waiting and trying to see it, and even recording it so you could see it again and show everyone), somebody had a brilliant idea; an idea that fit the mindset and timing of the early 1980's so well, it became a brief phenomenon, just like the fast-talking Micro Machines guy that was everywhere later, and it went like this:
There were of course other ads, such as the one where she is waiting in line at the fast-food restaurant, or driving like a maniac while her two friends slosh around in the back of the car (these are on YouTube as well), and they are equally good.
It is at this point that something occurred which was such a completely normal happening back then, nobody ever thought twice about it. When something was popular in the 1970's and 1980's (and even long before that), it meant that the eventual and unavoidable novelty song was on the way.
It's hard to comprehend this today, when nothing is funny at all anymore, and nothing can be, but--although the point of any of these things is to make money off of a popular trend--a real sense of whimsy and fun still often permeated such attempts. Not only that, but also a sense that your audience was going to know what you were doing, and go right along with it (also impossible today).
Wikipedia says that novelty songs started at least as far back as the 1910s, and their article is interesting to read, just to see the various inspirations for some of these songs (some are surprising). In fact, it could be argued what exactly constitutes a novelty song, because I just realized I have been specifically thinking of songs that exploit a celebrity or event or thing, and that's merely one type. We won't go down that rabbit hole, or we will be here all day. I mean, is Weird Al's whole career novelty? I say no, that's actually the category of parody. From a modern perspective, I can't see how "Yakety Yak" or "Splish Splash" or "Charlie Brown" are all novelty songs either...they are...just 1950's songs (love The Coasters though). Nor do I think of "Monster Mash" as anything but freaking awesome, and an institution.
My point is, it surprised nobody that things like "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron" or "Convoy" or "Disco Duck" or "Vanna, Pick Me A Letter" existed back then. They just did; they mirrored the times ("Hey, WHEEL OF FORTUNE is a thing"). They were on the same shelves right next to the current "serious" singles that came out at the same time. Some were practically expected, and many of them actually made the charts and were hits. (This is a good time to say, long live Dr. Demento!)
But back to Clara Peller. For all my pontificating about these types of songs, is this one any good? Oh no, not at all (it's also jacked to oblivion--this is one record that was mixed hot, my friends), but it needs to be heard to be believed. Coyote McCloud, by the way, was a DJ from Nashville who cut three 45s in his time, this one among them. One interesting thing about this particular release is that Wendy's logo is all over it, which sort of subtracts points from its street credibility....then again, maybe that was the only way, legally. Then again again, maybe they just hired him in order to create a novelty song, as some savvy (or shameless?) promotion. We may never know.
One last thing: without fail, what do you always get for a B-side when you have an artist, group, or project with only one song in existence, and no other material? An instrumental, of course. Use the lyrics on back to sing along, and make your own version of this song. Or, don't!
"Mommy! Daddy! Take me to see SOLOMON AND SHEBA, with Yul Brynner and Gina Lollobrigida, please, pleeeeeease! I'll be good, PLEASE!"
Those were the words spoken by exactly ZERO children in 1959, when this 7-inch record came out. But what we are looking at isn't a kids' record, right? The back of the sleeve gives you your answer:
Oh.
None of this matters, anyway, because what we have here is another "magic record," or as RCA specifically called them, "Secret Spiral Records," records cut with multiple grooves that give you a surprise outcome when you drop the stylus!
We have looked at a couple of these before (here is a fun Hanna-Barbera one), and there have been quite a few over the years, from one that enabled you to play Bingo (where seemingly random numbers were called), to even one that was a Roulette wheel (were you supposed to gamble with these things?).
Here, though, we have an exciting chariot race on side 2, where each one of four differently-colored chariots can be the winner! The first side gives you some instructions, and then sets the scene in the context of the movie...then it's on to Side 2, to play the game!
Speaking of the movie (which is regarded as a clunker--making it killed Tyrone Power, even), a keyword search of its lengthy plot on Wikipedia does not even contain the word "chariot." Is it any coincidence that BEN HUR came out right at the same time? I think not.
I can only imagine some fist-fights, drinking games, or at least small bets that were lost, involving this record. It's always tough to convert these types of records, because invariably there's that last groove that you are trying to randomly hit, and it just won't come up! But fear not, I have provided them all here for you. Listening to these digitally may not be as fun or random, though, but I'm sure there's a way!
Hard to believe, but here we are again at another Halloween already! Let's wrap this up just in time for the festivities:
Haunted House (Italy, 1985) This is another of those records that is one side hellscape, and the other side individual sound effects that are divided up. It's very well done. I recently pulled this one out of a dusty box at a Game Exchange, and the Treat turned into a Trick when I removed the record to find deep, very feelable scratches all over both sides, done maliciously with some sort of garden tool. I cried to the heavens: "WHY?!!!?!?!!"
Tales To Dream By (Weirdo, 1962) This is another great one, apparently an amateur production, but done extremely well. It sort of purports to be a radio show, almost, as it has openings and closings, but presents four tales that are very spooky, especially alone in the dark. Very expensive record if you can ever find one (and you won't)!
Thrillers & Chillers (Troll, 1973) Another in the extremely fun series of great Troll stories. Can you handle yet another rendition of "The Tell-Tale Heart"? Also the old "Monkey's Paw" chestnut, and it goes from there. Well done with familiar voices that you will recognize from vintage commercials and other places!
Five weeks in October this year! Let's keep it going:
Great Ghost Stories (Troll, 1973) - More fun, scary, and sometimes whimsical stories all featuring familiar voice folks of the era, done in the unmistakable style of this label. All their Halloween records are expensive today.
Spooky Sound Effects (Sounds Records, 1961) - The earlier sound effects records are some of the most fun (and rare)!
Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart (HBR, 1966) - And now, the star of our show. You know William Castle the showman, and William Castle the director, but do you know William Castle the actor? Here he takes this overused story and catapults it into the STRATOSPHERE. You have simply got to hear him go completely over-the-top raving bonkers into madness. He totally pulls it off, and it's a treat not to be missed!
We are halfway through October, and here are three more Halloween delights:
An Evening With Boris Karloff And His Friends (1967)-Remember the days before home video, when there was no way to re-live the classic Universal horror movies, other than to read FAMOUS MONSTERS and patiently wait for them to be shown again on television? This record helps 1960's kids with the wait, because Boris hosts a cavalcade of audio excerpts straight from those classic films! This one's been gone for many a year.
Night In A Graveyard (1985) - Here is a sort of famous one from Italy. More than just a "sound effects" record, side A boasts that it was "Recorded Live On The Estate Of Count Dracula"! It's very well done, and was used to scare many trick-or-treaters who were questioning whether or not to approach that one house in every neighborhood that always went way out, with speakers in the windows, blasting this very record!
October 31 Halloween Party (2003) - And here comes a curve ball. But then again, maybe you need more music for your upcoming Halloween Party!............if so, you are going to have to explain to me how these are Halloween songs. "Rock The Casbah"? "Bad Bad Leroy Brown"?! Anyone?
Something a little different this week, because these discs go together, but were probably sold separately, who knows...
Anybody remember LASERLIGHT, the budget label that released, well, whatever they could get their hands on? I first encountered them as a young CD collector. I think they were the first "bins full of cheap CDs" that I ever ran into. Mostly Classical at that time, though. It was a huge deal to find $3 CDs when they were all twenty bucks or more.
This is a helping of Halloween cheese put out by them in 1999-2000, but in excellent packaging. The covers were shiny foil printed on heavy stock, and each disc's inlay and spine were a different bright highlighter color--this made for a nice asthetic, but is impossible to scan for some reason.
You get a little of everything--two discs of movie themes, a disc of original music, and a disc of scary stories:
I will admit I haven't even finished going through them yet, which I will rectify, and here we are already at Week 2! Enjoy!
To start us off, here's a scan of a Citrus Hill Orange Juice reflective patch (really more of a sticker) from 1982, to slap on the backs of your young trick-or-treaters! I recently found this unused inside of a book that I purchased!!!
Well, it's already that time of year again, and nobody's happier than me. And this year we get five weeks of October, so get ready for an onslaught of Halloween goodness. Someday we really will run out...but, not today:
Arch Oboler - Drop Dead! An Exercise In Horror (1962)
This one is a real treat. Oboler was a writer of many types of things, but is best known for his run on the LIGHTS OUT horror radio show. These vignettes examining different types of horror are incredibly well done, and a couple are downright terrifying. If you grew up hearing Bill Cosby's routine about being scared to death as a child by a radio story about a giant chicken heart (which was a LIGHTS OUT episode by the way), it's here! Don't miss this one.
Monster Mash EP (Peter Pan Records, no date)
And there there's this rarity. We begin with possibly the worst cover of "Monster Mash" you've heard in a long time, and then conclude with three random tracks from Frankie Stein albums (which were on Power Records anyway, which was joined at the hip to Peter Pan, so maybe it's not so weird after all).
The Sounds Of Halloween (Hallmark, 1986)
As Halloween sound effects records are so common, we are going to divide them up like we did last year, so there's not an entire week of only sound effects records. This one is dear to me because I owned it as a kid. It is one side sound effects, and one side sound-alike covers of Halloween songs. Is "Purple People Eater" even remotely a Halloween song? I think that's stretching.
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