Dr. Music

Sounds like the name of a used record store, but no, it's this...

The group name and title almost sound like a children's group, but no, obviously not. I haven't listened to it yet, but in getting these pics ready for this post, there's something on the back that really makes me want to look into it...

A track called "Gandalf"? Normal people don't name tracks after Lord of the Rings! Prog rockers or psychadelic folk rockers do! So...yeah, I really need to look into this. (P.S. Love that font! Look at the way they put the Ls together in Mallory, Jollimore and Tallman! Anyone know what it's called?)

*looking into this* (seriously, I'm going to Google right now)

Ok, here's some interesting info on Dr. Music from their wiki page: "Bedtime Story consisted of jazz compositions by Riley and his band members, Claude Ranger and Don Thompson, and belonged to the genre of progressive jazz rock." And from that link in their name: "The album was generally more progressive than his previous outings, with a heavier guitar-oriented sound. The songs were longer, and more complex..." :o

Here's the track "Gandalf":

Not quite what I was hoping for (I listened to some others as well), but great musicianship and energy!

And now I'm looking into the drummer on this album, Claude Ranger. Legendary, it turns out, not only because of his playing, but because he disappeared in 2000! Read about it here!

Pure exotica

Because that's what it's called.

Vol. III, even! This one's for you, RetroHound! Heh. ;)

Can't think of any other Spectra-Sonic-Sound albums in my collection. I'll take their word for it that it's the ultimate.

Martin and the boys, with a special guest.

Mother's Body Beat

Saw another copy of this at the same thrift store recently. Currently trying to find out more info on Dr. Murooka, because while Hajime is most definitely Japanese, Murooka is...I dunno! *later on...* Well, I guess it's legit. I found a few more Murookas. I'm guessing it's fairly rare, though. It almost seems like a Westernized spelling or something.

Anyway, in searching, I found this little article from the May 22, 1975 issue of Jet magazine from a Google Books scan:

I guess this is pre-album? Or maybe that track was sold as a single?

Body Beat sounds like an old K-tel album title or something. ;)

There's something disconcerting about the crying picture. Maybe because the composition is kinda harsh? *shrug* (or it's just sad seeing a crying baby?)

Sorry for such a picture-heavy post, but I think this is pretty interesting! Certainly not something you'd see every day. :) I haven't given it a spin yet, but I should. I'm expecting some heavy metal snuck in there somewhere. In the meantime, here's a demonstration:

Ah go to go!

Dig those jeans! And that entire ensemble on the left! :) I also like the name Elsworth James. Pretty cool. Some interesting facts according to this link; he was a household name in Trinidad and Tobago before coming to Canada, where he was nominated for Juno awards (the Canadian Grammys, basically) in 1989 and 1990 in the soca reggae genre. Not too shabby, as all the kids say!

He also enjoys calypso.

Another shot of him, possibly enjoying calypso.

A nice sponsor for the album, but I had to look it up. BWIA means British West Indian Airways. Pretty interesting story!

Uh oh, he said the A word. ;)

P.S. He also had an album called Tribute to Ben Johnson! I wonder if he later regretted it. :p

The lovely and talented Jean Marshall

I love covers like this. Simple and lovely. I always hope someone will find these and shed more light on the performers, especially when I can't find anything more on them other than the write-ups from the back covers, such as in Jean's case.

Is it just me, or does she look like she could be Bobby Moynihan's mother? :) (meant in a good way, of course! Love that guy!)

Lemme tell ya, being on Don Messer's Jubilee was a big deal!

She's got Tammy Faye lashes

Well, the lashes are thick, but I guess comparing them to Tammy Faye's was a bit of a stretch. At least there wouldn't be any fractured toes if one fell off and landed on a foot.

Anyway, these are The Jacob Sisters (for some reason, Google translates 'geschwister' as 'brothers and sisters'), and the title of the album translates to At the Youth A Go Go, apparently. They have A-Go-Gos everywhere! ;)

The latest "vinyl killer"

Maybe some of you have seen one of these cute little things before...

Believe it or not, that is a portable record player! You put it on a record, move that stick, and it proceeds to drive around the grooves in the record, producing sound through a speaker. (you can see the holes for the sound to escape on the top) 

It goes under various brand names, being produced by many companies, but the most common term for them is "vinyl killer." They're low quality and invariably create scratches and scuffs galore on the surface of any record it's put on. Even a perfectly working one is a gamble, so it's always a 'use at your own risk' device. Yes, it can be fun, but you'd only want to use it on a record you don't really care about.

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Techmoan, has recently reviewed a new "vinyl killer" called the RokBlok, which features bluetooth. Is it any good? Of course not, but that's part of the fun. ;) Check out his first RokBlok video below, along with a follow-up.

Yikes.

Still yikes. ;)

Wess & Dori

I remember seeing this cover at other blogs and always thinking it looks like he's choking her. :p The way her head is tilted and her hand holding his, it almost looks like she's struggling. Odd choice for a cover pose.

Then as I was looking for more info on them and saw this cover...

Blimey! :p

Anyway, this singing duo did pretty well! Wesley "Wess" Johnson and Dori Ghezzi were on the same label and decided to team up. They were later chosen to represent Italy at the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, coming in third. Here's their performance of that song, "Era":

Pretty smooth!

They did well in the San Remo Festival as well and had interesting lives, especially Miss Ghezzi, who was even kidnapped at one point! Worth a read: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dori_Ghezzi