The Fight Of The Century...

...and I'm definitely not talking about last night's pathetic three round farce between David Haye and Audley Harrison.

Nope, the bill in this case lives up to it's name in every way possible! 'The Fight Of The Century' finds Muhammed Ali and 'His Gang' coming face to face with 'Mr. Tooth Decay' on this long playing record which I plucked from the bargain bin on Friday's brief digging excursion (see last post). Now after spending a good part of the last hour scanning in the cover and recording snippets from the vinyl, a quick google search revealed this record has already been 'blogged' about elsewhere. You can grab a download of the full album here if you're one of those leachy types, or read the sort of post I probably would have written if I hadn't been beaten to it by 'Franks Vinyl Museum'.

I've decided to upload the artwork anyway as neither site have particularly good scans or include the inner sleeve, which I wouldn't normally bother with but felt compelled to include for a number of reasons ...

1. An illustration of, what I'm hoping was an actual product - the Ali boxing glove toothbrush.

2. Copy relating to a follow up vinyl release - 'Ali and His Gang Vs. "Fat Cat the Dope King" and His Sidekick Peter Pusher'. (I *NEED* this record).

3. What appears to be a photo of Ol' Blue Eyes auditioning a bunch of multi-racial kiddies for recruitment into the next generation of Black Panther activists (I'm presuming the boy to Frank's right, the girl next to him, and the kid at the bottom all received 'fails').



Back cover (click to enlarge)


Front cover (click to enlarge)


Inner sleeve (click to enlarge)


Reverse of inner (click to enlarge)


Here's a rip of my favourite section from the vinyl which includes some great Blaxploitation style drama Funk and a script that sounds like it was written by the same people responsible for the amazing 'Black Dynamite' film.

Walt Disney presents...

I'm off to Euro Disney with the kids in a couple of days. Don't think I'll find any records out there but you never know, Mickey and the gang have been know to bring some occasional funkyness. Well, I say funkyness, the only record I have that actually grooves in a funky way is the infamous Mike Curb Congregation version of "Mickey Mouse March". I've got the U.K. released album "BBC presents Best of Disney Time", which features this track, but there's a cool U.S. picture sleeve promo 45 I've been after for a while now - I'm hoping Walt's workers might have found some dead-stock copies to put out in the gift shops that clearly advertise 'Records' on the signs (I'll take photos this time).

I've also got a few spoken word Disney albums which have been sampled by various people over the years, including the one pictured above - "A Child's Introduction to Melody and the Instruments of the Orchestra". I won't give up exact details about what this was used on but I'm sure most of you will instantly recognise it anyway - just hit the play button below. Prince Paul craziness in full effect!

Also included below is the aforementioned version of "Mickey Mouse March". The sleeve artwork for the U.K. album is disgusting so I didn't bother scanning it in but if I do find a copy of the 45 I'll post that up when I get back...


Camarata "Cavemen" (1962 Walt Disney Productions)




The Mike Curb Congregation "Mickey Mouse March" (1975 BBC Records)

Listen, Move & Dance - Stories In Movement

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.


(click for supersize, readable scan)

Daphne Oram 'Rhythmic Variations' (1962 E.M.I. Records)





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)

Listening and Reading

Just a quick post on the visual front today - a couple of spoken word children's story records I picked up a month or two ago. Produced by Penguin Education (a division of Penguin Books) in 1973 on double vinyl, housed in beautiful, super glossy, laminated gate-fold sleeves. Unfortunately the illustrator has not been credited anywhere on the cover which is a shame really cause I'm liking his/her style. The Graphic Design is real nice too - crisp and clean throughout, just how I like it...