Surfin' with a twist

Twistin' 'N' Twangin' — Duane Eddy (1962)

Duane Eddy was already a "show business legend at 23!" According to the back of this album. He reminds me a lot of Dick Dale and the Deltones, part of the Surf Guitar movement of the 60s. Anyway, Twistin' 'N' Twangin' is absolutely fantastic from start to finish.

A1. Peppermint Twist

B.3 Moanin' 'n' Twistin'

A little off-beat

Off Beat Percussion — Don Lamond and His Orchestra (1962)

I actually went to a proper record store in Fremantle and paid full price for this baby, as opposed to the Op-shops I normally go through. It was one of the first Space-age Pop albums I bought, and boy does it pack a PUNCH! This is one of my favourite records to date!

The track we have today is "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)". Yes, it's been done to death by soooooo many artists, but this version is fresh and different. It's the only version I can listen to over and over without getting sick of it!

Little Latin holiday

Machito and his Orchestra — Irving Berlin in Latin America (1959)

Hello again! I do realise it's been quite a while since my last post. Where have I been? Nowhere, I was just busy and then I broke my foot last month. FACEBOOK BROKE MY FOOT, to be more precise. Since I was practically house-ridden the whole time that probably would have been a perfect time to post more covers, but I didn't really feel like it. I preferred to watch TV online and make origami stuff.

So today we have Machito and his Orchestra. I just love this album. I found it for $2 it in an Op-shop many months ago. I just had to look at it to know it would sound totally kick-ass. The only thing wrong with it was that a small grand-child perhaps scribbled all over the back cover with a blue pen. But anyway, if you ever happen to find anything by Machito and his Orchestra BUY IT!!! That is if you like 50s Latin music of course!

This track is a lovely Latin version of "Blue Skies". It's a pretty song and I really like the Doris Day version too.

Nacho cheese

Bill Shepherd and his Border Brass — Tijuana Style (1967)

How could I not get this record? It looked freakin hilarious and I had to get it! The best way to describe it is super-cheesy latin. If you see the words "Tijuana", "Mariachi" or "Brass" on a cover, this is what it'll sound like. Most of the time, anyway.

The track below is called "Beautiful Dreamer", and it sorta brings back memories. Back when I was in Highschool music class, there were a whole bunch of keyboards on one side of the classroom. One of the auto-play songs on the keyboards was "Beautiful Dreamer". And it actually sounded a lot worse than this version!

Around the World for $2

The Cinema Sound Stage Orchestra — Around the World in 80 Days (1956)

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of 50s movies. I can't really remember most of them, however they all had absolutley beautiful scores filled with strings.

"Sky Symphony" from Around the World in 80 Days is simply "delightful". Never has an adjective described something so perfectly! Again, I found this in an Op-shop for $2!

Tropical Chav

Orquesra Cristobal Chavez — Tropical Fire (1967)

This little baby was an eBay impulse buy. I was getting a few other records from the same seller and thought one more couldn't hurt. It was only $8, after all. I didn't know anything about Cristobal Chavez, but I could tell just by looking at it, that it would sound GREAT!!! I was not disappointed. This is another great example of the "cheesecake" cover. I mean, feather boas don't exactly scream "tropical" to me, but what do I know... 

A1. Jealousie

The final frontier

Enoch Light — Spaced Out (1973)

Enoch Light is one of my favourite artists on vinyl. His mid-50s stuff is really nice. Towards the 70s he got a little too cheesy for my liking, but this album is pretty great. Not to mention the chick on the cover looks like Myf Warhurst from ABC's "Spicks and Specks" but with an orange wig!


"Bond Street"

Saxy movie

Johnnie Gray and His Saxophones — Movietime: Themes From the Big Films (1969)

After the way Kenny G murdered the saxophone, I never thought I'd be able to listen to it ever again. But, this album makes the sax' bearable once more, enjoyable even! Sure, the cover may look a little sus, but it's actually quite good.


This track is called "Limbo Line".

Sexy escapade...

The George Shearing Quintet — Latin Escapade (1956)

George Shearing is one of the few Space Age Pop artists that I've managed to get my hands on. It's not exactly the easiest genre to find here in Perth, but if you know exactly what you're looking for you'd be surprised what you'll find. I bought this one on eBay, as a part of a 12-record collection of George Shearing. Very nice stuff. Maybe I'll upload a track from another one.

I'll give a proper explanation Space Age Pop very soon... With pictures!!!

This track is called "Anitra's Nañigo"

Yamaha Superstar!

Koichi Oki — Yamaha Superstar! (1972)

Now this was an unexpected find! When I saw it, I just knew it would be awesome. The back cover was completely ruined, but it plays pretty well for a $1 record. Yes, I found it in Vinnes in Maylands. ^_^

It's sorta like the Moog Synthesiser but slightly different. It still fits into the Moog category. The track is called "Summer in Shima". If you ever come across this baby, get it! You won't be sorry.

Who the hell are you?

Mr. Acker Bilk With The Leon Young String Chorale — Mood Fore Love (1966)

I mostly got this because Mr. Bilk had such a reluctant look on his face there. His eyes say "Who let this crazy b!#¢& into my house? Make her go away!" The other reason I got it was... it looked like 60s jazz with a clarinet and I recognised a few songs, so I figured it wouldn't be so bad.
Here's the best track — Theme from Madame "X"

Ka-POW!

Dynamic Brass — The Blue Velvet (1970)

That's one way to describe this album. It's pretty explosive from start to finish! And by far, one of the best op-shop finds I've had to date. I can't believe I find this kind of stuff for only $1! I say this with a very self-satisfied, sheepish grin. It's things like this, that make trawling through dross (Kamal) entirely worth the effort, you see...

Now to the track... When I was in Highschool — which wasn't so long ago, I might add — I studied Classical Guitar. One of the duets I played was "Two Guitars". Here is a brassy, jazzed-up version of it that sounds better than anything I ever played!

If computers could sing...

Christopher Scott — Moog Plays Switched-On Bacharach

Whenever I see the word "Moog", I pounce! The moog synthesiser is a wacky keyboard-type instrument that was quite popular in the late 60s/early 70s, just think Kraftwerk. It's a little cheesy and futuristic at the same time. I just love it. If computers could sing, this might be what they'd sound like! Now imagine all your favourite Bacharach tunes sung by this hypothetical singing computer. Brilliant!!!


"The Look of Love"

Hey there, sexy lady!

The International Hits Orchestra — Lightly Latin (1968)

Welcome to the wacky world of Cheesecake! It's a term given to records that have a random hot lady on the cover, wearing various amounts of clothing. I have no idea where that term originated.

"Southern Festival"(below) is quite a good track. It's what I imagine the soundtrack of a 60s spanish spy movie would sound like...

Surfing in France, with an accordion!

Armand Lassagne — Son Accordéon et son Ensemble

Some unexpectedly nice label art too

I found this little gem while I was sifting through crap in the Salvos record bin. It looked very 50s/60s, and I thought French accordion music from that era would sound pretty cool. I wasn't wrong. The track below in particular has a bit of Surfer guitar going on, it's really cool and totally bazaar! ENJOY!!!

Xavier and Abbe

Xavier Cugat / Abbe Lane — Self titled

Abbe Lane with Tito Puente and his Orchestra — Be Mine Tonight

Today we have a little Latin treat... Xavier Cugat was a well-known band leader from the 50s and 60s. For 12 years, he was married to singer/dancer/actress Abbe Lane. So this track "Nightingale", is actually taken from "Be Mine Tonight" by Abbe Lane and Tito Puente and his Orchestra but it's on this compilation album "Xavier Cugat / Abbe Lane". I really wish I had "Be Mine Tonight"!

Here's a test to see if I can upload tracks I recorded onto my computer, to my Sound Cloud account, then to here! Hooray, it worked!!!