Procol Harum

Artist: Procol Harum

LP: Exotic Birds and Fruit

Song: "As Strong As Samson"

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Song: "The Thin End of the Wedge"

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Song: "Fresh Fruit"

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Speaking of classic bands I'm just now finally getting into: Digging up a terrific Procol Harum single (no, not "A Whiter Shade of Pale") at my local record store a month or two ago prompted me to embark on a mini-binge, buying just about all of the group's early LPs, which the store just happened to have used copies of in stock. "Exotic Birds and Fruit" is Procol Harum's 7th LP, released in 1974. Peaking at only #86 on the US album charts, it was their least successful record up to that point...which, as we now know, probably means it was their best one so far!

Formed in 1967, Procol Harum is one of those bands whose name I'd heard and whose records I'd seen over the years, but I'd just never bothered looking into them. (Others are Three Dog Night, UFO, Uriah Heep...there are a bunch of them.) Anyway, these guys are good. I'm glad I've finally added some of their stuff to my collection! You can read about Procol Harum here, and there's info on this particular record right here.

 

[ Procol Harum ]

Fred Lowery

Artist: Fred Lowery

LP: Fred Lowery Whistles Your Gospel Favorites

Song: "Whispering Hope" 
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Song: "Shall We Gather At the River?" 
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Song: "Sweet Hour of Prayer" 
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Fred Lowery, who was born in Palestine in 1909 (no, not that Palestine, this one), lost his sight after coming down with scarlet fever when he was only two years old. But though Fred Lowery may have been blind, he still had his vision. When he was around 19 years old and in school, Fred met a bird imitator who encouraged him to take up whistling. Fred did, and soon he was performing with the likes of Vincent Lopez and Horace Heidt and their respective orchestras and he starting scoring hit records like his 1939 rendition of "Indian Love Call." This 1967 LP, on which Lowery whistles some of my gospel favorites, seems like the perfect thing for a wonderfully cool, sunny and  breezy Sunday morning—my first as I enter my 47th year on Earth. You can read more about Fred here and in the liner notes below.

[ Fred Lowery: November 2, 1909 — December 11, 1984 ]

Aquarian Dream

Artist: Aquarian Dream

LP: Norman Connors Presents Aquarian Dream
Song: "Phoenix"
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After raiding the Bremerton thrift stores on Saturday I headed north to Port Townsend to meet up with my friends John and Aine and some of Aine's family who were there for the day. Somehow we all ended up at Quimper Sound. John dug up this 1976 Aquarian disco treasure and gave it to me as an early birthday present! Ever since laying eyes on it, I've been having my own Acquarian dreams involving variations on the titillating scenario pictured here:

You can read all about the never-quite-as-popular-as-they-should-have-been Aquarian Dream here and go here to see the guys in the group without their shirts on. In case you hadn't already guessed, "Phoenix" is not about the capital city of Arizona.

 

[ Aquarian Dream ]

La Compagnie Creole

Artist: La Compagnie Creole

LP: Vive Le Douanier Rousseau!

Song: "C'est Bon Pour Le Moral"

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Turntable Treasures and House of Records is the other store I visited on my trip to Tacoma last Friday. They've moved around the corner from where they were the last time I was there about seven or eight years ago, but their new spot is as cluttered and junky as ever, and it feels like they've been stuck there for decades. Unfortunately, the older fellows who run the place evidently got wind of the news that vinyl sales have been on the upswing and that collecting has become popular with hipsters, and they're hoping to get themselves a big slice of the vinyl-sales pie. The first bin of records I thumbed through was filled with beat-up thrift-store staples like this and this and this, all of them marked at $20 apiece. (The friendly fellow behind the counter said to watch their Facebook page for info about featured sales on Sundays, so maybe those records are offered at a 190% discount at the end of every week to compete with the Good Will down the street.) But as is usually the case in stores where battered Huey Lewis records are going (or not going) for $15, you can usually find a few reasonably-priced treasures if you dig deep enough into the dustiest corners of the place. This lively and colorful 1983 LP by La Compagnie Creole is one of the neat things I found stuffed into the "World" section beneath the bins of "Pop and Rock," in the shelves near shoppers' kneecaps. Originally from French Guiana and the French West Indies, La Compagnie Creole are known for their happy-go-lucky music accompanied by joyful themes like rainbows, sunshine, and harmless animals, with a special emphasis on the Parakeet. You can read about them here. And then go here to read about La Compagnie Creole.

The Ravens

Artist: The Ravens

LP: The Ravens

Song: "Love Is the Thing"

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Song: "Don't Mention My Name"

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Song: "Come a Little Bit Closer"

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I took the day off work last Friday and drove down to Tacoma where I enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe before going to see the incredible HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire In American Portraiture exhibit currently on display at the Tacoma Art Museum. My favorite portrait was the one made of candies ("untitled" by Felix Gonzalez-Torres), but the entire show provides a fascinating historical overview of the lives and works of artists and public figures who challenged gender and sexual norms in American society throughout the 20th century. If you're gonna' be anywhere near Tacoma between now and June 10th, you simply must go. I wasn't about to leave Tacoma without visiting a few record stores first; this collection of recordings from 1952-1954 by The Ravens is one of the wonderful things I found at Hi-Voltage Records. Formed in 1945 (or maybe 1946, it depends) by Harlem waiters Jimmy Ricks and Warren Stuttles, The Ravens had a string of hits in the late '40s and early '50s, starting an avalanche of R&B copycat groups also named after birds, including The Orioles, The Swallows, The Crows, The Swans, and The Wrens. The mellow bass voice of Jimmy Ricks (featured on "Love Is the Thing") and Joe Van Lon's glorious tenor (showcased on "Don't Mention My Name") offer a lovely variety on each of The Ravens' records, with the two lead singers backed here by Jimmy Stewart (not THAT Jimmy Stewart) and Warren Stuttles. I've also included "Come a Little Bit Closer" which has The Ravens bobbing along like a quartet of robins. You can read about The Ravens' National label recordings on the JazzWax website here, and find lots of terrific information about the history and lineup changes of the group on the Vocal Group Hall of Fame website here. The Ravens were inducted there in 1998, and they're my favorite musical discovery so far this year!

[ The Ravens ]

Xiomara Alfaro

Artist: Xiomara Alfaro

LP: Latin Nightingale

Song: "María Escandalosa"

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I've recently met a nice fellow to date, and last Friday night we went to dinner at La Isla, a Puerto Rican restaurant in Ballard just a few blocks from my apartment. We'd both heard good things about the place, but neither of us had been there before. It was delicious, and if you're ever in my neighborhood I recommend you give it a try. As we were walking toward dinner, I pointed out several good record stores nearby and warned my date not to let me step inside them. But when we arrived at La Isla we were told that there would be a 25-minute wait for a table, so I suggested we pop over to Bop Street Records while we waited. He said, "okay," which is a really good sign! I think we'll get along just fine. Xiomara Alfaro—whose 1958 "Latin Nightingale" LP is one of the things I discovered at Bop Street before dinner—was born in Havana, Cuba in the spring of 1930. She rose to popularity in the 1950s and came to be called "El Ruiseñor de la Canción (The Nightingale of Song)" for her lovely and inimitable soprano warbling. The guy who wrote "Siboney" claims Xiomara's version of the song to be his favorite; you can find her performing it in a neat-looking old Cuban film by clicking the YouTube link below. Go here to read about Xiomara in Spanish, and for English notes, click here.

Xiomara Alfaro on YouTube:

[ "Siboney" ]

 [ Xiomara Alfaro ]

The Emeralds

Artist: The Emeralds

LP: Bird Dance
Song: "The Bird Dance—Version II"
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Song: "Rivers of Babylon"
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Here's one I picked up for a dollar at the Goodwill thrift store in Mitchell, South Dakota. I had pulled into town to see The Corn Palace, but spent the night in this quaint little place so I wouldn't have to keep driving in a huge midwestern rain storm—and plus, I wanted to watch the new Johnny Depp movie. To learn the bird dance, please follow these simple steps found on the back of the record:

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[ The Emeralds ]