Sunday, April 30, 2017

W.O.C.K On Vinyl: Ted Cassidy - The Lurch-Wesley 7'' (1965)


Before things get too serious here at Rock On Vinyl, I thought it might be fun to post a song / album at the end of each month, that could be categorized as being either Weird, Obscure, Crazy or just plain Korny.
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There's probably not many people on this planet (or at least in the Western hemisphere) who haven't seen an episode of the Addams Family and haven't fallen in love with the bizarre characters portrayed in this 60's T.V sitcom, in particular the Addam's 'gargantuan butler' Lurch. Now, Lurch loved his job. No, really. Just look at that happy twinkle in his eye the next time you watch an episode of the show.

The Addams family simply couldn’t function without him. Amidst all the explosions, sword-fighting, and man-eating plants, Lurch is the steady, lumbering rock that keeps the household in-line.

Lurch keeps a predictable routine and will always show up when the bell is rung. He’s careful and deliberate in the execution of his duties, and tends to the family’s practical, physical needs—like making dinner and…cleaning, I guess? I’ve seen him with a feather-duster, but perhaps he’s applying the dust rather than removing it.

Although Gomez and Morticia consider him bright and animated, Lurch won’t even smile unless prodded, and even then it’s a ghastly-looking affair. He rarely speaks more than a sentence or two (the character was supposed to be mute until Ted Cassidy ad-libbed “You rang?” in the pilot and cracked up the producers), and normally expresses his reservations about the family’s hi jinks with groans and moans.

I must say, I’ve found an annoyed Lurch moan to be one of the most satisfying ways to express my exasperation with some people. Especially at work !

Lurch has fixed his loyalty on the Addams's, and won’t be moved. They consider him family, though he’s usually reluctant to cash in on their affection for him. He has a very sweet, nurturing relationship with little Wednesday — he teaches her the harpsichord, and she teaches him to dance—and when she asks him why he doesn’t express his happiness, he admits to her, “I like being miserable.”

Lurch becomes famous for a spell when his harpsichord playing and unique voice turn him into a teen music idol overnight. He enjoys the attention at first, but then suddenly his new agent wants to take him on a world tour. The Addams family convinces Lurch to go through with it, but a few steps out the door, he’s mobbed by fans. Lurch stumbles back inside and happily returns to his old life.

The only thing Lurch has to show for his short moment of stardom is a one and only single release, included here for your entertainment.

Gary Paxton (the songwriter/singer, later turned contemporary Christian recording artist in the 1970's, who was responsible for novelty hits as "Alley-Oop" and "The Monster Mash") was responsible for this Ted Cassidy record. He co-wrote both "The Lurch" and "Wesley", and it's too bad there was no follow-up record. Capitol Records just considered it a one-time and done deal, as many novelty records at the time were common for.

Capitol Records may have considered a follow-up recording of Ted Cassidy playing organ or harpsichord (just like they did with Detroit Tigers' pitcher Denny McLain in 1968 for two Capitol singles, and a whole album, which is a major find here in Michigan, a collector's item elsewhere.) but no such luck on Cassidy's part. Unfortunately, he was typecasted with the "Lurch" image, and it was hard for him to shake it off for the rest of his career, despite getting dozens of roles in movies and TV shows (he hated being typecasted as "Lurch", too. And he was dismayed about being confused by the late Richard Keil, who played on a couple of the James Bond movies.)

Some fun facts: Ted Cassidy stood 6' 9" (2.06m). Played multiple sports. Entered high school at the age of 11. An accomplished organist, he faked playing the harpsichord on "The Addams Family." Among other voice work, he narrated the opening of "The Incredible Hulk" TV series.

"On the October 30, 1965 Halloween episode of Shindig, Lurch debuted a new dance craze called "The Lurch." The dance steps were nothing more than a lot of shuffling and arm dangling a la the Frankenstein Monster."

So, this month's WOCK on Vinyl features a couple of Crazy tracks sung by the Lurch himself and like the shows theme song, it's just a bit Kooky and spooky for my liking.  The rip was sourced from Mr Weird and Wacky with thanks and features MP3's (320kps) with artwork and label scans.  The A-Side is called " The Lurch" while the B-Side is a filler entitled"Wesley".

Note: A 2011 eBay Sale fetched $250 for this rare single. See picture right.

HERE IS A REALLY RARE 45 AND PICTURE SLEEVE BY TED CASSIDY OF THE ADDAMS FAMILY ON CAPITOL #5503, BOTH SLEEVE AND 45 IS VG+ BUT THERE IS LITTLE WRITING ON THE 45 LABEL. ALSO INCLUDED IS A RARE ORIGINAL ADDAMS FAMILY CARD #45 OF LURCH.

The Lurch Link (12Mb) 
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Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Rum Jungle - Live At Peppers Studio, Adelaide (1978)

(Australian 1977-1979, 1984)
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Rum Jungle were a funky, Afro-type Jazz Band who predominantly played in and around Adelaide during the late seventies. For a time in the late seventies, Rum Jungle was the most popular band in Adelaide. A long running residency at the Lord Melbourne Hotel became their home, as well as the Tivoli Hotel being another favourite venue.
Frontman Phil Colson, from Sydney’s Foreday Riders, gathered a fine collection of local players - James Black (keyboards and guitar), Bruce Sandell (tenor sax), Ian McDonald and Rod Cornish (bass) and local king-of-the-skins JJ Hackett - to perform a mixture of blues, R&B and funk - all about the groove and dancing. The high point for the band was a trip to Thailand in 1978.

Rum Jungle 1978
Sadly, the band never returned to The Lord Melbourne. Ian left to join Stars, while JJ and James moved to Melbourne to join Mondo Rock. James went on to play in The Stockings, Gangajang, The Black Sorrows, Men at Work and is musical director of Rockwiz. Bruce returned to Melbourne and is Australia’s best exponent of the King Curtis style. Phil lives on the central coast of NSW still playing his wild blues and watching with pride the astonishing success of his daughter, Sia Furler.



Nearly forty years later, the members of Rum Jungle came back together to play a one-off gig of the power-packed music they love at the Garden of Unearthly Delights as part of the 2015 Adelaide Festival. To promote the gig the band made available four previously unreleased tracks recorded at Peppers Studio in 1978/79 and are in this post.
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Phil Colson
Phil Colson
It's hard to write about Phil Colson because you cannot capture much of Phil Colson in words. He is larger than life and best seen in the flesh!. He is a physical presence– easily one of only a handful of Australian guitarists with a distinctive sound and touch. Not only a distinctive guitarist Phil is a great soulful singer. the physicality of his music is deep and affecting. Phil The Renaissance Man is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, artist and a Master Chef's master chef …. cocktails anyone?

Phil first came to fame in Sydney band the Foreday Riders before moving to Adelaide in the early Seventies.
He was in the Mount Lofty Rangers with Bon Scott in 1973 before forming 'Rum Jungle' and later 'Fat Time'. He was also member of Art Rock band the 'Soda Jerx'.  Phil also participated in the following events:

  • The 1980 Drama Festival - Critics Award-Best (Solo) Live Music "Suburban Mysteries"-Stage Play
  • He was the Musical Director on "News Free Zone" - TV Comedy '85 with Graham Bond
  • He was the composer of the musical score for the 1986 feature film Candy Regentag

Rum Jungle At The Tivoli Hotel, Adelaide
After a few years mainly working on Adelaide based "art" projects, Phil moved to Melbourne. where he developed a musical relationship with Colin Hay, participating in following ways:

    • Men at Work "Everything I Need" single -Slide Guitar
    • 'The Twelfth Night' Neil Armfield Film - Musical Director '86
    • The Colin Hay Band '88 - Guitar/Vocals.
      In the Nineties Phil returned to Sydney where he constantly performed in various soul based group.

        • Jump Back Jack (Jacky Orszacsky)- Guitar/Vocals
        • The Foreday Riders '90-'95-Singer/Guitarist
        • The Jumpsters - Jump/Swing/Bop
          Rum Jungle playing at the Adelaide Festival in the 70's
          In the late Nineties he started evolving a very deep interest in Country, Rockabilly and Western Swing guitar playing. Suddenly the slide and steel guitar became a passion.

            • Singer/Guitar/Songwriter & Leader '95-'96
            • The Midwest Obsession Alt-Country 97-'00 - guitar/vocals /songwriter

              Gig Advert From The Late 70's
              From 2003 he was involved with "Chet Romero" - Truck-a-Billy/Western Swing playing Steel Guitar, Mandolin, Baritone Guitar, B-Bender Telecaster
              In the last 8 years, Phil moved to the central Coast of NSW where he lives a happy life near Terrigal and plays guitar in local bands with occasional forays back into Sydney to perform shows.

              This 'Rock-a-Billy Celebrant' is easily one of Australia's best blues guitarists but is also the father of the wonderful Australian performer Sia Furler.! [Extract from Rum Jungle's Facebook Page]
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              Thanks to Kelvin Fleming who rescued an 1978 1/4" tape recording of Rum Jungle made in Adelaide at Peppers studio. Kelvin meticulously transferred the crumbling old tape to the digital realm, and Jon Lemon our sound guy from back in the day (now he's one of the worlds top live sound engineers currently working with Beck,The Smashing Pumpkins and Ray Lamontaigne) stepped up and mastered them for us.
              All tracks are at 320 MP3 - no artwork available  (Originally sourced from soundcloud.com)
              Thanks to Tarago (Midoztouch2) for the Rip and band info

              Track Listing

              01.  Ain’t no use
              02.  224 4000
              (Recorded in the 70's A song written by Mark Pengilly and performed by Rum jungle)
              03.  Butterfat
              (A funky 70's stomping Dance Instrumental track featuring the honking tenor saxophone of Mr Bruce Sandell)
              04.  That’s your problem
              (Swinging track from Ron King)

              Band Members included:
               
              JAMES BLACK - Guitar, Keyboards
              RON CORNISH - Bass
              GRAHAM GIBB - Bass
              IAN McDONALD - Bass
              JOE SUDOUSKAS - Drums
              JAMES HACKETT CORNISH - Drums
              PHIL COULSON - Guitar, Vocals
              RON TABUTCEAU - Guitar, Vocals
              BRUCE SANDELL - Saxophonist


              Rum Jungle Link (39Mb)
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              Wednesday, April 19, 2017

              Dragon - O Zambezi (1978) + Bonus Track

              (New Zealand 1973 - 1979, 1982 - Present)
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              Dragon's story is an interesting one. They started out as a prog-rock group in the early seventies but were met with general indifference. It took some personnel changes and a move from Auckland to Sydney for their careers to take off.

              The most notable of the personnel changes was the addition of vocalist Marc Hunter who replaced the departed Graeme Collins at the request of his brother and Dragon guitarist, Todd Hunter.

              Marc Hunter looked the part and had the voice and the change of venue was just what the band needed. The move to Sydney put Dragon on a stratospheric trajectory in their adopted homeland.

              Following their success in Australia they decided to try to crack the US market on a disastrous tour supporting Johnny Winter. After inciting a crowd in Texas by derogatorily insinuating they preferred the romantic company of the same gender. Marc Hunter related the story in a 1994 interview:

              I remember seeing someone standing holding a pistol and shouting 'I'm gonna kill you, you son of a bitch'... I didn't know it but by this point the rest of the band had left the stage. I was still singing because I could still hear the music in my head. It took ages to clear the pile of debris on the stage - broken glass, bottles, chairs, half a table - but I was totally unaware of this, I thought I was going over really well and I'm standing there in a crucifixion pose with my arms out, really gone, with heaps of eye make-up on, looking like some sort of twisted priest. And apparently Johnny Winter was taking bets on the side of the stage as to how long it would take before somebody shot me. Then I turned around and saw no one was on stage so I realised I wasn't going over too well after all and I went back to the dressing room and everyone was just standing there... I said 'We went great, weren't we terrific?' At that stage of the band I was really a shocking sod. And all the record company people were just staring at me like I was an 'insectoid' from Mars. And so that was it for us for that trip to America."

              Marc & Todd Hunter
              O Zambezi was released just before Dragon's ill-fated tour of the United States in 1978. From start to finish this album is a catchy capsule of late seventies rock. The album only peaked at 17 in Dragon's native New Zealand but in Australia it was a much different story as the album shot all the way up to #3 largely on the strength of the #1 hit single "Are You Old Enough?" and the catchy "Still In Love With You". To this day, O Zambezi remains Dragon's highest charting album and largely on the strength of their catalog from this era of the band, Dragon was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2008.

              If you're new to Dragon O Zambezi is an excellent album to start with as it's a snapshot in time of the band at the pinnacle of their success when they were firing on all cylinders making infectious uptempo pop music.

              On a sad footnote keyboardist Paul Hewson died of a drug overdose on January 9, 1985 and the excesses of the rock and roll lifestyle also caught up with vocalist Marc Hunter. He was forced to retire from performing when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1997. Unfortunately, he inevitably succumbed to cancer on July 17, 1998. [extract from perplexio76]
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              This post consists of FLACs ripped from my Rainbow CD release and includes full album artwork for CD and LP along with label scans.  Although their debut album 'Sunshine' is a classic, this album comes a close second in my opinion and is packed full of great tunes.
              I have also chosen to include as a bonus track, their non-album single "Konkaroo" which was released between their 1977 Running Free album and the 1978 O Zambezi release. The track is also available on their Greatest Hits Vol.1 album released by Portrait in 1979. It is strange that this high quality release found its way on a low budget label such as Rainbow. Because I found the CD at the market I am unsure what its original selling price was but suspect it was a low cost release, indicating that CBS had probably lost faith in the band. They deserved better in my opinion.The cover for this Rainbow is shown right
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              Track Listing
              01 - O Zambezi
              02 - Still In Love With You
              03 - Are You Old Enough
              04 - Politics
              05 - Reach The Top
              06 - Civilization
              07 - Midnight Grooves
              08 - One Look Across The Water
              09 - Company
              10 - Burn Down The Bridges
              11 - Konkaroo (Bonus Single)


              Dragon were:
              Marc Hunter (Lead Vocals)
              Todd Hunter (Bass Guitar, Vocals)
              Robert Taylor (Lead Guitar, Vocals)
              Paul Hewson (Keyboards, Vocals)
              Kerry Jacobson (Drums)

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              Dragon FLAC Link (268Mb)
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              Friday, April 14, 2017

              Soundtrack - Music From Great Australian Films (1982)

              (Australian 1982)
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              OK , so this post is a little out of character to what I usually post on this blog, but this album has many characteristics that I really like.  The fact that the music is associated with homegrown 'Aussie movies' and in particular features what I believe to be some of the most compelling 'soundtracks' ever released - namely 'Gallipoli' and 'Picnic At Hanging Rock'.  The hairs on the back of my neck still rise whenever I hear the haunting pan flutes playing on Picnic At Hanging Rock and am filled with emotion when Jean-Michel Jarre's "Oxygen" is played during Gallipoli. The music itself is performed by the Neon Philharmonic Orchestra with excerpts from the original soundtracks making this a wonderful listening experience.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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              Newsfront (Motzing)
              The very grand opening comes as a momentary surprise. It's been easy to forget the warnings that ran through this Australian classic, and to remember best Newsfront's tremendous, foot-tapping arrangement of The Road to Cundagai. This great Mammy song has never been put to music better than in Newsfront. You can judge from this track of it, because conductor Motzing created the Newsfront score.

              Phil Noyce's film (1978) is about Australian news-reel cameramen — and through them about recent history. At first there is friendly rivalry. But as the '40s turn into the '60s what began as a world of mateship ends in angry political divisions, dreams of big international money — and TV putting the movie newsreels out.

              Producer David Elfick
              Director/screenplay Phil Noyce (from script by Bob Ellis)
              Leading players Bill Hunter, Chris Haywood, Wendy Hughes, John Ewart, Angela Punch, John Dease, Bryan Brown

              Gallipoli (Jarre/Albinoni/arranged by Motzing)
              This was never meant to be a war film. It's about going to war — why and how the Australian
              young men of 1914-15 flung themselves into a volunteer army, lied their way in if they had to.
              Never forgetting the ultimate tragedy, David Williamson's script is often funny, and makes a great yarn. Young Archy is a sprinter who'll be in world class — given time. He wins his first big race in an outback WA town, then tries to enlist but they find out he's under age. He and Frank (the runner he won from) head out together for Perth, almost perish in the desert, but get through still laughing — and into the army.

              They meet again at the staging camp near Cairo, and race again for the sudden sheer fun of it, across the desert and up to the top of a pyramid. It's mateship at its happiest and most likeable. But orders come through to move, and the score has been warning us of tragedy ahead, in the passages back grounded by the singing and crying of bullets through the air. Albinoni's lovely Slow Dance (the Adagio in G Minor) carries the emotional burden of a great Australian film.

              Producers Robert Stigwood, Patricia Lovell
              Director Peter Weir
              Screenplay David Williamson
              Photography Russell Boyd
              Leading players Mark Lee, Mel Gibson, Bill Hunter, Bill Kerr, David Argue

              My Brilliant Career (Schumann/arranged by Motzing)
              In 1979 My Brilliant Career came probably closer than anything before or since to putting Australian film officially on the world scene through the then obligatory road of the Competition of the Festival of Film at Cannes.
              Career was given a standing ovation, and the word was all over Cannes that it was on the short-short list for the Golden Palm. Of course, it couldn't win against such heavy metal as Coppola's Apocalypse Now. But it went on to commercial success, and overnight fame for Judy Davis (Sybylla) and Sam Neill (Harry).
              Based on the Miles Franklin novel, it's about Sybylla, a natural-born feminist girl around the turn of the century, fighting for a life and therefore a career of her own.
              She's been bred on a run-down farm. Her grandmother brings her to live in the mansion on a great grazing property, and be trained to 'make a marriage'. Sybylla does almost accept Harry the jackaroo. But there's that brilliant career to work for. Meanwhile, sometimes, she can relax with Schumann at her grandmother's grand piano.

              Producer Margaret Fink
              Director Gillian Armstrong
              Screenplay Eleanor Whitcombe
              Photography Don McAlpine
              Leading players Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Wendy Hughes, Pat Kennedy, Aileen Britton

              Tall Timbers (Evans/Rasbach)
              A great Australian movie of 1937. Even 80 years ago they were worrying about trees. But this talkie was about who ought to be allowed to cut them down.
              Rival timber companies are fighting for a major contract, felling entire hillsides of forest by the cruel but widely-used 'timber-drive' method: dynamite the row of trees at the hill crest. and the whole forest collapses downhill, domino-style.

              The inclusion in the score of the unadorned tune of Joyce Kilmer's Trees (saying that trees are more lovely than poems) might be better — but less interesting — if Tall Timbers had been about not cutting forests down at all.

              Producer/director Ken G Hall
              Screenplay Frank Hurley
              Leading players Frank Leighton, Shirley Anne Richards, Campbell Copelin, Harvey Adams, Aileen Britton, Joe Valli

              Cathy's (Child Motzing)
              Her immigrant father steals her from her mum, Cathy Baikas, and takes her back home so that she can grow up Greek. Don Crombie's film gets very close to one of the most paraful sides of the migration experience. It also makes an interesting 'true' story about the real-He efforts of the Sydney Sun's 'Hot Line' reporter (Dick Wordley) to get the child back to the distracted Cathy, splendidly played by Michelle Fawdon.

              The strings in Motzing's selection, here, speak of Cathy's loneliness; the clever little arrangement for electric piano and percussion talks of hope, and home.

              Producers Pom Oliver, Errol Sullivan  
               Director Don Crombie 
              Screenplay Ken Quinnell from Dick Wordley's book 'A Piece of Paper' 
              Leading players Michelle Fawdon, Alan Cassell, Bryan Brown, Arthur Dignam, Willie Fennell

              Eliza Fraser (Smeaton) 
              Audiences of 1976 didn't feel the fate of Captain Fraser and his wife Eliza was as funny as David Williamson and Tim Burstall hoped. The fat Captain and his pretty wife put their ship into the infamous Moreton Bay convict settlement in 1836. After farcical bedroom adventures they sail again only to be dashed ashore and stranded with a murderous crew. They escape these to be taken by Aborigines — and enslaved, according to Eliza later. The Captain is killed. The wandering crew turn to cannibalism. Eliza is rescued and spends her days telling versions of her adventure at fairgrounds and circus sideshows.

              Bruce Smeaton's music, here, is in part a clever, pop 'homage' to a Prokofiev piece about a Russian soldier-hero who never existed. Is Smeaton saying something about Eliza's tales.

              Producer/director Tim Burstall
               Screenplay David Williamson
              Leading players Susannah York, Trevor Howard, Noel Ferrier


              Breaker Morant (Stuart/arranged by Motzing)
              Nobody watching the API Awards of 1981 will forget the almost non-stop rendering of Soldiers
              of the Queen as Breaker took almost every award.
              Soldiers of the Queen was the ironical theme of this enormously successful film about two Australians and the Anglo-Australian remittance-man, horsebreaker and poet, 'Breaker' Morant, who in 1901, at the Boer War, were executed by the British high command on what many believe were false and political charges of unlawfully shooting Boer prisoners.

              In 1980 it became Australia's third successive film to be invited to Cannes; and it brought the first Cannes award — to Jack Thompson as Best Supporting Actor (as the Australian defending officer.)

              Producer Matt Carroll
              Director/screenplay Bruce Beresford (screenplay from the play by Kenneth Ross)
              Leading players Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, Bryart Brown, John Waters

              The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Smeaton)
              This was Australia's first film invited to Cannes. Part of its financial failure afterwards may have been due to the tremendous hype it was buried in at Cannes. And although critics went on praising it, audiences were often alienated from the hero by the brutality of the Blacksmith
              murders.
              Smeaton's echoes of operatic themes fits this entirely operatic story of race, rebellion and wholesale slaughter. The dark warnings of Fate bring memories of Bizet's Carmen.

              Producer/director/screenplay Fred Schepisi
              Leading players Tommy Lewis, Freddy Reynolds, Ray Barren, Jack Thompson, Angela Punch



              The Picture Show Man (Best)
              Perhaps the most lovable of our 'small' films. It's the mid-20s, Maury is a travelling picture show man, wandering from town to town in his horse-drawn van, with his cranky arc lamp and shaky gear, his son Larry and his shiftless pianist Lou. Of course he has a rough competitor — the American, Palmer. The plot is hopeless; but the wanderings are wonderful, the scenery and camerawork lovely, John Meillon at his best as Maury, and his Tap, Tap, Tap, song-and-dance number is irresistible.

              Producer/screenplay Joan Long
              Director John Power
              Photography Geoff Burton
              Leading players John MeiHon, Rod Taylor, John Ewart, Judy Morris, Harold Hopkins

              Picnic at Hanging Rock (Smeaton/Enesco/arranged by Motzing/traditional arrangement by Motzing)
              1975, but even now not many can hear pan-pipes without remembering Georghe Zamphir's pipes haunting the score of this enchanting fantasy about three senior schoolgirls just disappearing forever during a bush picnic in Victoria on St Valentine's Day, 1900. Four of the girls from Miss Appleyard's boarding school outing climb the huge Hanging Rock. Only one ever comes back.

              Peter Weir wove a wonderfully fascinating film around this story from the (fictional) novel by Joan Lindsay. Here, Motzing brings us reminders of those pan-pipes; and reminders of the menace of Hanging Rock.

              Producers Hal and Jim McElroy
              Executive producer Pat Lovell
              Director Peter Weir
              Screenplay Cliff Green
              Leading players Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Jacki Weaver, Anne Lambert, Karen Robson, Jane Vallis, Christine Schuler


              The Mango Tree (Wilkinson)
              A lilting old-time country melody takes us back to Ronald McKie's story of the melodramas of growing up in a Queensland country town during World War One. Jamie Carr, rising 17, learns about sex from his pretty French teacher. The Professor — an alcoholic English remittance man — runs into trouble with wartime patriotism. The Preacher goes out of his brain and kills the local cop. It was good fun.

              Producer/screenplay Michael Pate
              Director Kevin Dobson
              Leading players Geraldine Fitzgerald, Robert Helpmann, Christopher Pate, Gerard Kennedy, Diane Craig


              Dimboola (Dreyfus)
              Ocker, sometimes funny but not often enough. An English feature writer Mr Vivian Worcester-Jones, from The Times arrives, bemused by this Victorian town, round about dawn (the music could be dawn music). Gangling and ocker Morrie (Bruce Spence), is about to marry Maureen. The astonished Worcester-Jones gets mixed up in the bucks' parties, the brawls and the grog.

              Producer JohnWiley
              Director JohnDuigan
              Screenplay Jack Hibberd
              Photography Tom Cowan
              Leading players Bruce Spence, Natalie Bate, Max Gillies

              Caddie (Flynn)
              Perhaps the best hard-times movie since The Sentimental Bloke, and the best jazz of this recording.
              It's 1925. Caddie, with her two small kids, walks away for good from her suburban home: her husband's been having an affair. She takes a job in a seedy suburban bar, finds a seedy room — with bugs, one of the kids almost dies and she sadly has to put them in a home. Jack Thompson, as the pub bookie, names her Caddie: she has class, like his new Cadillac tourer.

              The years pass. Peter, a Greek, is her lover. He leaves her to face the Depression alone. Bill, a simple rabbit-oh, sees her through — and so it goes. Direction and acting make it work like love's old sweet song. And like an old sweet song Flynn's music comes through here, before it shifts into some great jazz trumpet.

              Producer Anthony Buckley
              Director Don Crombie
              Screenplay Joan Long
              Leading players Helen Morse, Takis Emmanuel, Jack Thompson, Jacki Weaver, Kirrily Nolan
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              This post consists of FLACs ripped from my virgin vinyl and includes full album artwork and label scans.  So sit back and relax to this wonderful compilation of famous Aussie Movie Themes.
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              Track Listing
              01 - Newsfront
              02 - Gallipoli
              03 - My Brilliant Career
              04 - Tall Timbers
              05 - Cathy's Child
              06 - Eliza Fraser
              07 - Breaker Morant
              08 - The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith
              09 - The Picture Show Man
              10 - Picnic At Hanging Rock
              11 - The Mango Tree
              12 - Dimboola
              13 - Caddie
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              Music From Great Australian Movies FLACs (257Mb)
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              Monday, April 10, 2017

              Bill Haley And His Comets - Selftitled (1960)

              (U.S 1952–1981)
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              It was the 1950s and prosperity had arrived. There was time for spending money, fads, and heroes. It was time for a new generation, the living was easy. Time for the start of something big.
              If you were a kid there was time for movies, and of course records. A new sound had arrived - Rock 'n' Roll propagated across the country. By 1955 it had taken over, and Bill Haley and his Comets were in first place with "Rock Around The Clock" - 1955 was Bill Haley's year. His records were not only played, but were bought by the new generation in their thousands — much to the chagrin of their parents.
              In 1954, Bill got his Comets together, and they recorded hits like 'ABC Boogie', 'Razzle Dazzle', Thirteen Women', 'Dim, Dim The Lights', 'Shake Rattle and Roll', and in 1955 his phenomenal 'Rock Around The Clock'. Bill Haley and his Comets rocketed to world stardom.
              More hits followed, 'Burn the Candle', and of course 'See You Later Alligator' - a phrase that became part of the jive talk anywhere kids were together.
              Bill Haley had a wide appeal - rock 'n' roll spread from middle-class suburbia through to New York's Harlem (Haley was one of only 5 white artists to make the R & B charts between 1950 and 1955).
              By 1966, much to parental dismay, rock 'n' roll was a household word, and a very important part of life for teenagers. Competition was growing, but Bill still churned out hits such as 'Rip It Up', 'Skinny Minnie', and 'R.O.C.K.'

              Other rock 'n' roll singers were emerging, and bringing with them a new breed of rocking, raving, shrieking, bumping, grinding performers. A new kind of beat the kids could dig because it was their own.
              Bill Haley was at the top for a long time. He had his own style, and it had a lively foot-stompin' beat which was the forerunner for much of today's music. Many of our current musicians owe a debt to people like Bill Haley who helped change the course of popular music all over the world.
              Bill Haley's sound has never died, and the combination of R & B and back country music will be remembered for a long time yet, along with the famous 'spit curl hair' and plaid jackets which were the image of Bill Haley's style.
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              This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from my Australian vinyl pressing, released on the Fiesta Label (a subsidiary label for Warner Bros), which after 57 years, stills plays as well as the day is was released back in 1960, when I was still in nappies.  Full album artwork and label scans are also included.
              There is an enormous variety of music in this album, and it is a tribute to Bill Haley that he could perform all of it so splendidly. Not many artists of that era could draw material from so many sources and be so completely at home with all of it.  On a final note, the album states that it is Stereo, but I suspect some electronic enhancement has been used to convert Mono into Stereo.  For you added enjoyment, I have included some bonus tracks that are well known standards of Haley -  "See Ya Later Alligator ", "Razzle Dazzle" and "Burn That Candle".  Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane.
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              Track Listing
              01 - Crazy Man, Crazy
              02 - Kansas City
              03 - Love Letters In The Sand
              04 - Shake Rattle And Roll
              05 - I'm In Love Again
              06 - Stagger Lee
              07 - Rock Around The Clock
              08 - I Almost Lost My Mind
              09 - Blue Suede Shoes
              10 - My Special Angel
              11 - Blueberry Hill
              12 - Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On
              Bonus Tracks
              13 - See Ya Later Alligator
              14 - Razzle Dazzle
              15 - Burn That Candle

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              Band Members:
              Bill Haley (Vocals, Guitar)
              Johnny Grande (Piano and Accordion)
              Billy Williamson (Steel Guitar)
              Franny Beecher (Lead Guitar)
              Rudy Pompilli (Saxophone)
              Al Rappa (Double Bass)
              Ralph Jones (Drums)

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              Bill Haley And His Comets Link (86Mb) 
              New Link 29/03/23
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