What A Bummer!
Amanda
Let's Get Plastered And Raid Circus World
(c. Mid to late 80s)
Amanda Whitt (between the ages of 8 to 11) with her older brother, recorded a slew of lo-fi gems such as this, between 1986-89.
Outsider real people post punk! Amanda comes out growling her songs while banging pots and pans or to pre recorded beats or pop songs as her backdrop.
The Amanda tapes have been championed by Outsider Music expert Irwin Chusid and have circulated on various comps for years.
Bee-Boop/You're So Fine
The Bubble Busters
Dot 16607
(1964)
Who were the Bubble Busters?! No idea. No info on the webs either, but the presence of Neil LeVang (surfy guitarist for The Lawrence Welk Show) and Frank Scott (harpsachordist on the Lawrence Welk Show) leads me to assume this garagey surf single is a Welk side project session band. Pretty sure the title is a play on popping Lawrence Welk's infamous "bubbles".
Ali Baba
Celina Azul
Los Boppers
(1961)
Los Boppers were a Mexican rock n roll group that, in their original carnation, would rise to fame and disband within a couple years. They recorded three albums, mostly of American covers in Spanish, and a handful of singles; they would do several TV and live performances to acclaim, but would inevitably disband due to the frustration from lack of marketing for their records.
Pretty sure this is an original of theirs, but could be wrong.... either way, it's a killer. The original 7" goes for bananas, but the LP can still be found modestly priced.
All Colors
Ken Nordine
Fuller Paint Color "Spots"
(1964?)
In 1966 Ken Nordine released an incredible album entitled "Colors" filled with word jazz, stream of conscious poetry odes to the various colors in the spectrum.
His albums of Word Jazz have gained huge cult followings among record collectors, and his "Colors" LP is probably the most sought after.
The backstory of the recording of the album, is surmised in a footnote amongst the back of LP liner notes and some interview recollections by Nordine himself:
" I wrote the ten commercials and was very pleased. They were only on the air for thirteen weeks, and then they went off. People would call up and say, “Hey–play that again,” and they couldn’t, because they were commercials. And so, they caused quite a stir. They won an International Broadcast Award, which was wonderful, you know–something to dust. Very strange to win this big award, and that was the end of it. I thought, “God, how ephemeral. That was so much fun, doing that, and now it isn’t going to be heard anymore.” So I added about thirteen more colors–we did forty-four, all told–and I went back to Universal Recording in Chicago, and did the whole series of the colors, taking out the name of the Fuller Paint Company and just doing the colors as you hear them on the record. Yellow is different, but the rest are pretty much the same as they were."
The story has become myth, and reiterated in liner notes and several articles. Well, several years ago I found an original EP of the original Nordine commercials.
If Nordine is correct on his recollection, then two colors are missing, or were never actually distributed for airplay. He also states that aside from the drastic difference between the "Yellow" that appears on the LP, and in the original commercial, the remaining colors are more or less the same. But upon hearing these, that is most definitely NOT the case. Aside from alternate poems, you'll hear backup singers, sound effects and very different musical backings. Not to mention the recording "All Colors" which offers a tribute to the entire spectrum.
Evil Ways
Joni Laine and Buddy Campbell
Alias
(1972)
Joni Laine worked her way through the entertainment circuit as a sister trio in Idaho. She would go solo and end up in Hollywood. While entertaining in Houston, she would hook up with local entertainer Wayne "Buddy" Campbell and the rest (this album) is history. The whole album is pretty entertaining, but their take on Santana is such a treat.
Eleanor Rigby/Soon Ah Will Be Done
Ardent Choir and Jazz Choir
1972
(1972)
Ive grown really fond of this record over the years. Absolutely beautiful renditions of popular songs done by the Arden High School Choir. It appears there were three more LPs after this one with Barbara Kreun as the choir director... and if they are half as good as this one, they are certainly worth exploring.
I could have aimed a dart at any track on this record to share, but picked two cuts that show the tone of what makes this record special. Lively, energetic cuts like their rendition of "Eleanor Rigby", and beautiful, tender solo harmonies like Bret Long's solo on "Soon Ah Will Be Done."
This was a blind buy from DJ Shadow's Annual Storage Sale a few years back, and one of my favorite finds from it.
Stop! In The Name of Love
Danny Holley
Hello Holley!
(1968)
Cherub-faced Danny Holley feels better suited on a Keebler cookie or a Rice Krispies box. Some funky moments among the schmaltz (as if the title Hello Holley! wasn't a give away for the schmaltz,) there is a drum break on his rendition of "L. David Sloan" but I thought this Supremes cover was a fun one to share.
Found in an antique store in Bisbee, AZ.
