A few records I've pulled out for the kids Halloween party. Bonus nerd points for the first person to identify which West Coast rapper sampled a line from the "Haunted Mansion" record (audio below).
"Ghostly Sounds" (197?, Peter Pan Records, U.S. LP). Music by Gershon Kingsley. Narrated by Peter Waldron.
"Tales Of Witches, Ghosts And Goblins" (1972, Caedmon Records, U.S. LP). Narrated by Vincent Price.
"Hammer presents Dracula" (1974, EMI Studio 2, U.K. LP). Music by Philip Martell. Narrated by Christopher Lee.
"More Death And Horror" (1978, BBC Records, U.K. LP) Music by Mike Harding & Peter Harwood.
"The Haunted Mansion" (1970, Disneyland Records, U.S. 7") Narrated by Robie Lester.
I realised at work today (yes, I think about vinyl, amongst other things, to help pass the time) that I totally forgot to mention my favourite John Dankworth record in the last post. Don't know how because I've been meaning to write about it for a while now. I think maybe because it's a 45 and I'd immediately delved into the Jazz section of my LP's after hearing of his passing.
Anyway, this 7" E.P. - 'King Monkey - Stories In Movement 4' - is somewhat of an obscurity, recorded in 1969 and intended for play in primary school lessons as a tool to help encourage children's' use of imagination and their expression of it through dance. The liner notes give suggestions for teachers on how they might want to try incorporating the music within drama sessions, each 'band', or track, designed to stimulate different actions or emotions. I've scanned in the back cover so you can read the full guidelines but the basic story of 'King Monkey' (Side-B) "takes place in China, long ago, on the Mountain of Fruit and Flowers". As the tale unfolds, moods are set with music and notes are given on how the accompanying dances should be acted out. Side-A is split into five bands - The Chinese Elements - 'Earth', 'Water', 'Fire', 'Wood' and 'Metal', again with suggested dance expressions for each.
The actual music on here is completely bonkers! The best way I can describe it is - quirky Oriental themed Jazz. It kind of has that U.K. 'Library' type sound and features Laurie Hall (Piano/Hammond Organ), Denis Walton (Flute/Clarinet), Ralph Izen (Trumpet), Brian Odger (Bass Guitar) and Stan Barrett (Percussion) playing John Dankworth's original scores. For sampling it's a producers dream with loads of stabs, percussion sounds and even straight loops - I remember freaking out when I first found it.
I've actually got two copies of this record now, the first turning up at a bootsale about ten years ago. The vinyl was a bit battered so I instantly added it to my eBay search notifications and finally managed to cop a nice mint one six months or so ago - it took that long for another one to turn up! Typically I can't find the good copy at the moment so you'll have to make do with a sample from the scratched up one...
John Dankworth 'Wood' (1969 E.M.I. Records)
Whilst I'm on the subject of these 'Stories In Movement' type records I thought I'd include a couple of others with similar concepts - 'Listen, Move and Dance, Nos.1-3' and 'Listen, Move and Dance, No.4', again released in the sixties on the E.M.I. label.
'Nos. 1-3' features a cover shot that instantly takes me back to my own primary school days - sitting cross legged on a cold wooden floor, in shorts and a T-shirt with accompanying black plimsolls, being forced to participate in a weekly lesson which I absolutely dreaded. 'Expression through Dance' was not my thing at all. As a young lad all I wanted to do was kick a football about or sit quietly by myself drawing. In fact thirty years later and it takes a good few pints and sounds far removed from this to get me moving in public.
The music on this one is mainly Classical (arranged by Vera Gray) but does feature some interesting 'Electronic Sound Patterns' composed and created by Daphne Oram who was a founding member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and a credited pioneer in the Electronic music scene. I don't know about you, but I find the 'music' kind of scary and definitely wouldn't have played it to my children when they were five years old, not unless I wanted to torment them for some sick reason.
Again, there's samples to be had off this album so if you see it cheap, pick it up.
I love the sleeve artwork for 'Listen, Move and Dance - 4' and out of the three records here, definitely includes the most sample material. The vinyl is split into two basic themes - 'Moving Percussion' and 'Electronic Sound Pictures'. Side-A features an endless supply of drum and assorted percussion sounds set across sparse arrangements which allows each individual hit plenty of breathing space, supplying perfect food for the MPC, SP12 or whatever your preferred weapon of choice. I've put together a really decent library of sounds just from this one recording. Side-B is much like the Electronic pieces from 'Listen, Move and Dance, Nos.1-3' but the liner notes on this one include suggestions for imaginative expression, much like the John Dankworth E.P. Desmond Briscoe (the other founding member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop) composed and arranged the 'sounds' in collaboration with Vera Gray, who in turn composed 'Moving Percussion' on the flip.
I've recorded a track from the 'Electronic Sound Pictures' as an example of the music on here but if you're one of the very few traditional Hip-Hop beatmakers still left out there, who like to dig for original sample material instead of relying on lame 'stock' sounds, trust me when I say you won't be disappointed turning this one up. I haven't ripped any of the percussion side as with these sorts of records I save the best for myself. Get digging if you wanna hear the rest.
(click for supersize, readable scan)
Desmond Briscoe & Vera Gray 'Machine' (1966 E.M.I. Records)
I took the kids to the beach today, and on passing, but not before wild protests from the them, popped into a charity shop on route between the car park and the sea. Not expecting to find anything too exciting I pulled out a couple of 45s, paid the old lady and quickly got back to keeping the little ones happy.
After finally tiring them out I've just had a chance to check the purchases . The first, 'Heart Sounds', is a late '60s recording of human heart beat variations with beautiful sleeve artwork (which I'll post up on a later date), but nothing out of the ordinary, apart from the fact of course, it's a recording of human heart beat variations! The other, is this bizarre promo for Bayer's Canesten (an anti-fungi cream) which I gotta say, totally blew my mind! In all honesty I only bought these records to post up as a joke. Just yesterday I was thinking I'd been getting a bit too serious on here and need to step the weirdness up again.
So anyway, the A-side is exactly what I was expecting, as it so boldly states on the cover - 'dialogue on mycoses in dermatology and gynecology'. Quite amusing in a childish sort of way but that's as far at it goes. Nothing, however had prepared me for the B-Side. I won't even try to describe it as I'll ruin it if I do. Just hit that play button below and freak the hell out like I did on first listen. This is probably the sickest (pun intended) record I've ever found, and anyone who knows me will tell you I've got some pretty crazy vinyl. Whoever came up with the concept for this must have been eating the cream instead of applying it to affected areas of itchy skin! Glad they did though as I've just found my new favorite wax oddity...
Another record I picked up on yesterday's outing with DJ Extract is this extreme curio - 'Glass World Of Anna Lockwood'. Released in 1970 on Tangent Records (U.K.), an independent label which specialised in avante-garde recordings. The album consists entirely of sounds made with glass - 'many types, shapes, and sizes are used, singly or combined, and are manipulated in a variety of ways so as to extract from them their latent sounds. The glass used has not been specially prepared or shaped as with musical instruments; pieces of glass have been used which are not normally seen - fragments picked up from factory floors, such as small glass discs which are rubbed together, and sea-green glass rocks which are knocked against each other'. Some of the sounds achieved on this recording really are amazing considering, and for sampling potential it's endless - DJ Premier would love this for those little end of bar 'fills' he adds. I've recorded a 6 minute segment below, but there is literally hundreds of different sounds throughout, which, incidentally, I found quite therapeutic when listening to as a complete piece. I'll leave you with the interesting words of the artist lifted from the liner notes...
"I have treated each sound as if it were a piece of music in itself. For me, every sound has it's own minute form - is composed of small flashing rhythms, shifting tones, has momentum, comes, vanishes, lives out its own structure, and since we are used to hearing sounds together, either juxtaposed or compared, one sound alone seems simple - but so are the round scruffed stones lying about everywhere, until you crack one apart and all it's intricate beauty takes you by surprise".
