Peter Nero.

 Not had any piano music for a while so here's a good one....could be two for the price of one !! but it aint'....Its not "Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass" playing but if you didn't know it could be !!....reading that back it's as clear as mud !!......Anyway its a good one with "Peter Nero" at his best.. early recording of his 1971 to be exact

 1. The Mexican Shuffle
2. A Taste Of Honey
3. Spanish Flea
4. Flamingo
5. What Now My Love
6. The Lonely Bull

1. El Matador
2. Tijuana Taxi
3. Crea Mi Amor
4. Zorba The Creek
5. La Playa
6. The Work Song

          1. The Mexican Shuffle

Ella Fitzgerald

 Some of the best L/P's of Ella's is her "live" ones and this is one of her many bests !!....The year is 1965 and her voice is at it's best...I have seen her live about 5 times and she can certainly whip an audience into a frenzy when she does her "Scat" singing and you can hear a pin drop when she goes into the slow sweet songs like "Summertime" Ect....I have also met her and spoke to her 4 times out of the 5 even been in a Rolls Royce and the band bus with her...but that's another story !! back to the music..Her version of "Honeysuckle Rose"is fantastic and would have been a great single...also her version on this L/P of "How High The Moon" is taken at a very slow pace not a bit like her usual version....overall this is definatly one of her best....and if you buy the Japanese release CD you get 21 tracks instead of 12 !!!

1. Day In Day Out

2. Just A Sittin' And A Rockin'

3. The Lady Is A Tramp

4. Summertime

5. St Louis Blues

6. Honeysuckle Rose

1. They Can't Take That Away From Me

2. You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To

3. Somewhere In The Night

4. I've Got You Under My Skin

5. The Cricket Song

6. How High The Moon

Broadway Cast of Guys And Dolls

  Well now to the Bright Lights of "Broadway"a good original cast recording of a first class show....

   Sit Down Your Rocking The Boat

Mantovani & Orchestra

Still with "Bob" for this one as well !!...the sweeping strings of "Mantovani" with some great and well known tunes that we could defiantly call "Standards !!

        4. Jealousy

Cleo Laine And James Galway.

Here is a inspired pairing of two great talents....Cleo the singer and James the Flute player....The choice of tracks are varied and as the notes on the back says "Its not a classical pop or Jazz album"....love the track "Lo! Hear The Gentle Lark"

1. Drifting Dreaming
2. Sometimes When We Touch
3. Play It Again Sam
4. Skylark
5. How Where When
6. The Fluter's Ball

1. Consuelo's Love Theme
2. Keep Loving Me
3. Anyone Can Whistle
4. Still was The Night
5. Lo! Hear The Gentle Lark
6. Like A Sad Song

    9. Anyone Can Whistle

Dusty Springfield.

This is the first L/P of Dusty's that she recorded when she came back from America....It wasn't a very commercial success which is a pity because it is a good one....True she had changed her appearance and on some of the songs on this L/P it does not sound like the Dusty of the 60's...like on the last track which incidentally is the best one on the L/P if you didn't know it was her...well give it a listen and make up your own mind !!

1. Turn Me Around
2. Checkmate
3. I'd Rather Leave While I'm In Love
4. A Love Like Yours
5. Love Me By Name

1. Sandra
2. I Found Love With You
3. Hollywood Movie Girls
4. That's The Kind Of Love I've Got For You

          9. That's The Kind Of Love I've Got For You   

Chess

 I would guess that if you have not seen the show then this might not mean much to anyone but as with most of shows soundtracks it will appeal to the that have seen it  and there is a couple of songs that have become hits.

As you can see there is no track listing of who sings what songs  !

The American – Murray Head

The Russian – Tommy Körberg

Florence – Elaine Paige

Molokov – Denis Quilley

The Arbiter – Björn Skifs

Svetlana – Barbara Dickson

Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of the pop group ABBA, lyrics by Ulvaeus and Tim Rice, and book by Rice. The story involves a politically driven, Cold War-era chess tournament between two grandmasters, one American and the other Soviet, and their fight over a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any real individuals, the character of the American grandmaster (named Freddie Trumper in the stage version) was loosely based on Bobby Fischer, while elements of the story may have been inspired by the chess careers of Russian grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov.

          5. Bangkok / One Night In Bangkok

Ella Fitzgerald.

Ella as usual in good voice from the 60's.... selection of songs are more of a "Jazz" feel than her "Standards" and "Songbook Selections"....

1. A Night In Tunisia
2. You're My Thrill
3. My Reverie
4. Stella By Starlight
5. Round Midnight
6. Jersy Bounce
7. Signing Off

1. Cry Me a River
2. This Years Kisses
3. Good Morning Heartache
4. Born To Be Blue
5. Clap Hnads Here Comes Charlie
6. Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most
7. The Music Goes Round And Around

          6. Jersey Bounce

Linda Clifford.

 Well we've had Jazz, Classical, Hilbilly, Bluegrass, Piano, so I reckon its time for some "Disco"
a great L/P with a very different version of "Bridge Over Troubled Waters"...hope you like it !!

1. Bridge Over Troubled Waters
2. Let Me Be Your Woman
3. Don't Give It Up
4. Hold Me Close

1. One Of Those Songs
2. Don't Let Me Have Another Bad Dream
3. I Can't Let This Good Thing Get Away
4. Sweet Melodies

          7. I Can't Let This Good Thing Get Away

Tony Mottola

Here's an L/P that will test your stereo equipment it's a brilliant one as are all the "Command Stereo" series !!.....Its from the early 60's and I can remember hearing a couple of tracks on the radio from a programme that  used to review the latest L/P releases...so off I went to the record shop to find it....It's been one of my favourites and has always been on and off the turntable from when I bought it....Play it loud to get the most from it..... But make sure the neighbours are not in !!!!!!

    2. Skip To My Lou

Deodato

 This is one of the most inventive arrangers since the likes of "Ray Conniff" ect ...saying that... it's nothing like RC....he seems to be able to incorporate "jazz" "clasical" & "Funk" as well as some of his own sounds to his arrangments...the reference to RC was just to say he is as different at this time as RC was when he first started his "Sound" in the 50s/60's.....If you folks out there have not heard him then do have a listen !!...Caravan / Watusi Strut is 11mins of pure magic !!

 1. Funk Yourself

2. Black Dog

3. Crabwalk

4. Adam's Hotel

1. Caravan / Watusi Strut

2. Speak Low

3. First Cuckoo

          1. Funk Yourself

Clea Bradford

 Here's a great singer ! if you have not heard of her then you are missing out !! pure magic !!

          2. Don't Rain On My Parade

          8. Ol' Man River

Tony Mottola

This L/P has definatly not got a little man fiddling with the knobs and slides !!...Its how a guitar should be played....Fantastic track "Something" and just listen to the arrangments on "Heart And Soul" & "Georgia"....A must for all you "Easy Listeners" out there !!!

1. Les Bicyclettes De Belsize

2. I'll Never Fall in Love Again

3. The Impossible Dream

4. Guitar Underground

5. Something

6. Little Green Apples

7. Lay Lady Lay

1. Little Arrows

2. Heart And Soul

3. Georgia

4. Lullaby Of The Leaves

5. Hey Jude

6. Tony's Tune

7. Tequila

          10. Georgia

Marti Webb

Tell Me on a Sunday was the first solo album released by Marti Webb
All tracks were written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black and told the story of an English girl who has emigrated to the United States and embarks on a succession of romances. The music later formed the first half of a stage show called Song and Dance, in which Webb also starred.

Here's one of "Andrew Lloyd Webber's" lesser known work....Its a "One Act Song Cycle One Women Show"....First done as this L/P then produced on stage...it has some very good songs in it "Take That Look Off Your Face"got to No 3 in the English Hit Parade....best song for me is "I'm Very You You're Very Me

 

1. Take That Look Of Your Face

2. Let Me Finish

3. Its Not The End Of The World (If I Lose Him)

4. Letter Home To England

5. Sheldon Bloom

6. Capped Teeth And Caesar Salad

7. You Made Me Think You Were In Love

8. Its Not The End Of The World (If He's Younger)

9. Second Letter Home

1. Come Back With The Same Look In Your Eyes

2. Lets Talk About You

3. Take That Look Of Your Face (Reprise)

4. Tell Me On A Sunday

5. Its Not The End Of The World (If He's Married)

6. I'm Very You You're Very Me

7. Nothing Like You've Ever Known

8. Let Me Finish (Reprise)

Nelson Riddle And Orchestra.

This is another great recording from about 1958.....I keep thinking that Sinatra is going to start singing as the arrangements are very similar to his SFSL's especially on the tracks "Without A Song" & "I'll Get By" !!!

1. Jeannine
2. Without A Song
3. September In The Rain
4. S'posin'
5. Am I Blue
6. Rain

1. I'll Get By
2. Diga Diga Doo
3. For All We Know
4. Time Was
5. Something To Remember You By
6. Get Happy

   5. Am I Blue

Cass Elliot.

When you listen to "The Mama's & The Papa's" Cass's voice blends in well and it is only when she does a solo bit and this L/P when you realise how good a voice she had got and very distinctive.I believe that this was the first solo one that she did...a great selection of songs...love "Cherrie's Jubilee" !!!

1. I'll Be Home
2. Baby I'm Yours
3. Jesus Was a Cross Maker
4. That Song
5. When It Doesn't Work Out

1. I'll Be There

2. Disney Girls

3. I Think It's Gonna Rain Today
4. Cherries Jubilee
5. All In The Game

2. Baby I'm Yours.

The Musicmakers

 Ok folks we are now going on a musical journey with a few surprises on the way !! .so hold onto your hats as we start off with a good party sing song before we go "Cosmic" on a journey maybe to Venus !!..were all the women are !!...as in the quote by "John Gray"... "Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus" !!!!...so altogether now 123 !

Boney M

Whosh !! and are we away to Venus ?..who knows !! maybe in a dream !!....but the throbbing beat of Boney M will bring us down to earth