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Digital Formats & Their Corresponding Catalogs
Suggested Listens October 2017 Week 2
October 14, 2017October 12, 2017 Linda Reimer
Hi everyone, here are our six musical recommendations for the week; five streaming suggestions and one recommended album on CD.
(Click on the photo to stream or request the album)
Despite our continual warm weather, it is getting to be that time of year! We’re inching closer to Halloween and this album is a prefect compliment to the season!
The album offers a neat collection of songs featuring a combination of smooth classic pop singers singing Halloween related songs and just plain humorous Halloween songs.
Home Free, whom I’ll admit I had never heard of before typing up this week’s posting, is a country A Cappella group. And despite the rather somber looking cover for this album, boy the band members look serious! – this, their new LP, features 14 up-tempo songs including Life is a Highway, When You Walk In, Timeless, Mayday and My Church.
Country legend Dolly Parton offers a brand new album of children’s songs. The bright and empowering songs in this set include: I Believe in You, Together Forever, I Am a Rainbow, A Friend Like You and You Can Do It.
This album is a neat collection of music history from the early Twentieth Century. The set includes 20 George Gershwin songs that were featured in Broadway shows from 1919 to 1933. Songs in the collection include I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise by Paul Whiteman & his Orchestra, Nashville Nightingale by Fred Warring’s Pennsylvanians, My One & Only Johnny Johnson & His Statler Pennsylvanians, Sam & Delilah by Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra and My Cousin in Milwaukee by Ramona and her Grand Piano.
This 21 song collection features great smooth pop songs that are the perfect compliment to any relaxation activities.
Songs include: The Good Life by Tony Bennett, Fever by Peggy Lee, I Say a Little Prayer by Booker T & the MGs, ‘S Wonderful by Ray Conniff, C’est si bon by Eartha Kitt, Mad About the Boy by Dinah Washington, Blue Velvet by Bobby Vinton and a really interesting version of the song Sunny sung by the actor Robert Mitchum.
Compact Disc Recommendation of the Week:
Flowers by The Rolling Stones:
This 1967 album by the Rolling Stones shows the sixties era Stones at their best!
Songs include: Ruby Tuesday, Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadows, Lady Jane, Out of Time, Please Go Home, Mother’s Little Helper, Sittin’ on a Fence and the infamous tune of Ed Sullivan Show fame Let’s Spend the Night Together.
Music Videos of the Week:
Strollin’  After Dark by The Shades
Life Is A Highway by Home Free
I Believe In You by Dolly Parton
Nashville Nightingale by Fred Warring & His Pennsylvanians
C’est si bon by Eartha Kitt
Lady Jane by The Rolling Stones
Artist Biography & Discography Information
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)
P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713.
*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.
Tagged Alice Pearce, Big Bopper, Classical Music, Cocktail Music, Corning NY, digital content, Dolly Parton, Fascinating Rhythm, Flowers, free music, Freegal Music Service, Gerschwin, Halloween Novelty Songs, Home Free, I Believe in You, I Wish I Were a Witch, Lounge Music, Monster Rally, music, Peggy Lee, Pop Music, public library, Ray Conniff, Rosemary Clooney, Southeast Steuben County Library, Southern Tier Library System, streaming music, The Blob, The Broadway Gershwin 1919-1933, The Crystals, The Frankenstein Twist, The Rolling Stones, Timeless, Tony BennettLeave a comment
Weekly Recommended Listens: July 2017, Week 1: Sixties Rock: The Second British Invasion – British Rock From 1967-1970
July 10, 2017 Linda Reimer
Hi everyone, this week we’re kicking off a month long look at what author Robert Santelli, Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide, deems The Second British Invasion – this is the music British artists and bands put out between June 1967 and the end of the sixties.
You can think of the rock music of the sixties as having a musical call and response pattern. British musicians and bands who became popular in the early sixties were influenced by traditional American Rock and R&B artists of the fifties — artists including  Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Little Richard. And and you can hear that influence in their music – in the sounds of British Invasion bands like the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five and The Hollies. Those bands in turn, influenced the playing of American bands including The Beach Boys, The Monkees, Paul Revere & The Raiders, The Young Rascals etc.
Then in the aftermath of the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band in June 1967, you get that sort of call and response pattern again – although it starts to spread out like pebbles thrown in water as Sgt. Pepper’s was a colossally influential album, and is arguably, the greatest rock album ever released. The music on Sgt. Pepper’s influenced all rock musicians and bands on both sides of the pond for the rest of the sixties, into the seventies and beyond. Certainly, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band sounded more experimental than any rock album released before it; and its release heralded a new more progressive and experimental era in Rock history.
In the aftermath of the release of Sgt. Pepper’s you hear albums that are more innovative and that start seriously taking Rock Music past its youth focused beginnings; albums like The Rolling Stone’s Beggar’s Banquet, The Who’s The Who Sell Out, Traffic’s Dear Mr. Fantasy, Days of Future Passed by the Moody Blues, Piper At The Gates of Dawn by Syd Barret era Pink Floyd and the classic Small Face’s LP Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.
But enough musical pondering, on to the bands of the week!
So to kick this month long look at the British Invasion music of the late sixties, we’ll start off listening to the music of the three biggest bands of the era: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones & The Who and the albums they released between 1967 and 1969.
And as a reminder, our weekly music postings feature the following sections:
II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music)
III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week
V. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).
The Beatles AllMusic Biography by Richie Unterberger:
The Rolling Stones AllMusic Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine:
II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music):
Unfortunately, The Freegal Music Catalog doesn’t contain any studio albums by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or The Who. So for the artists specific LP recommendations skip down to the next section – CD Music Recommendations Of The Week.
And for the Freegal streaming suggestions of the week – here are some albums perfect for your summer listening pleasure!
Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor (1972) by Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor
Angel of the Morning by Marilee Rush:
Speaking of Marilee Rush, the singer who originally recorded the Taylor song Angel of the Morning, The Freegal Music Catalog features her Angel of The Morning album – which has a light, breezy 1970s country-folk feel to it. The album includes the title track, Taylor’s It’s All Worth It, Sandcastles, San Francisco (Be Sure To Wear Flowers In Your Hair), What The World Needs Now and a version of Hush which is quite interesting as it is much lighter in style than the better known Deep Purple version.
Here’s a link to stream the Marilee Rush LP:
Classic Rock/Pop/Folk & Country: Jukebox Oldies Rockin’ Summer Vol. 1 – Great Rock, Surf, And Soul Songs of the 50s, 60s, And 70s with the Beach Boys, Link Wray, Sam & Dave, The Byrds, Little Richard, And More!
This 16 song set, with the massively long title, contains the following songs: Soul Man by Sam & Dave, Poison Ivy by The Coasters, Rumble by Link Wray, Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin, Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds, Surfin’ Safari by The  Beach Boys, Pipeline by The Chantays an Surf City by Jan and Dean.
Here’s a link to request the Jukebox album:
Guitar Legend: The Very Best Of Dick by Dick Dale:
This 15 song greatest hits collection by the the legendary Surf guitarist, contains the following songs: Miserlou, Let’s Go Trippin’, Hava Nagila, Riders In The Sky, Night Rider and Surf Buggy.
Here’s a link to stream the Dick Dale album:
Do You Believe in Magic by The Lovin’ Spoonful:
This is the 1965 debut album by the Lovin’ Spoonful. The album features twelve songs including: Do You Believe In Magic, Blues In The Bottle, Did You Every Have To Make Up Your Mind?, The Otherside Of This Life, Alley Oop & On The Road Again.
Here’s the link to the Do You Believe In Magic album:
And since no summer would be complete without hearing the Lovin’ Spoonful’s  Summer In The City at least once, here’s a link to the album Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful which contains that song and 16 other classic pop/rock tunes:
The Complete Recordings (1964-1968) by Ronnie & The Daytonas:
More fun Surf music!  Songs include: G.T.O., Hot Rod Baby, California Bound, The Little Stingray That I Could, Surfin’ In The Summertime, When The Stars Shine Bright and more – 48 songs in all.
Here’s the link to stream the Ronnie & The Daytonas collection:
Singin’ in the Summer Sun by Skeeter Davis:
Skeeter Davis is sometimes classified as a country artist; to my ears though, her music sounds like classic pop music. This neat album features the songs: Under The Boardwalk, That Warm Summer Night, Remember (Walkin’ in the Sand), Sunglasses, That Summer Sunset and a vocal version of the classic Theme to a Summer Place.
Here’s a link to stream the Singin’ In the Summer LP:
Songbook by The Brothers Four:
This album really is just a great folk album and it is a stretch to classify it  a “summer album,” because it only contains one summer themed song – Summer Days Alone. Even so it is a fun record that includes the songs: Frogg No. 2, The Tavern Song, Lady Greensleeves, Ole Smokey & Tarrytown.
Here’s a link to stream the Songbook record:
Also available by The Brothers Four is a more in-depth collection titled Greenfields and Other Folk Music Greats – First Five Albums which contains, just what it says it does — their first five albums recorded in 1960 & 1961:
Mr. Lucy Goes Latin by Henry Mancini:
This is an entertaining orchestral pop album and contains the following songs: Mr. Lucky (Goes Latin), Rain Drops In Rio, The Dancing Cat, Cow Bells and Coffee Beans & Tango Americano.
Here’s a link to the Mr. Lucy Goes Latin LP:
Theme From A Summer Place And Other Great Themes by Billy Vaughn And His Orchestra:
This is another cool orchestral album prefect for listening to while relaxing by the pool or reading near the air conditioner. The album includes the songs Theme From A Summer Place, Tammy, Fascination, Some Enchanted Evening & All The Way.
Here’s a link to stream the Billy Vaughn album:
Summer Breeze by Various Artists:
This various artists collection contains 32 songs including: Papa Loves Mambo by Perry Como, Put On A Happy Face by Tony Bennett, You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Liza Minnelli, A Steel Guitar And A Glass of Wine by Paul Anka, Green, Green Grass of Home by Elvis Presley, Wonderful! Wonderful! by Johnny Mathis, Day-O by Harry Belafonte, Italian Mambo by Rosemary Clooney and many others – this is a great classic easy listening collection.
Here’s the link to stream Summer Breeze:
Summer Solstice 2 by Various Artists (A Windham Hill Collection):
This LP contains what used to be called New Age Music – and is what Windham Hill fans will expect – generally light, smooth and atmospheric songs including: Birds In Flight by George Winston, Cruisin’ Negril by W. G. “Snuffy” Walden, No Na Mamo by Taj Mahal and A Child’s Song by Will Ackerman.
Here’s a link to the Summer Solstice 2 album: https://goo.gl/fbUAK2
Jazz:THE MUSIC OF AMERICA: Inventing Jazz – Dave Brubeck by Dave Brubeck
Songs in the set include: The Duke, Ode To A Cowboy, Dialogues for Jazz Combo and Orchestra (with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra), The Golden Horn, Kathy’s Waltz & Non-Sectarian Blues.
Here’s a link to stream the Dave Brubeck LP:
Time & Love by Jackie & Roy:
This album, by Singer Jackie Cain and Singer-Pianist Roy Kral, includes the songs: Day By Day, Lazy Afternoon, Summer Song/Summertime, We Could Be Flying and more.
Here’s a link to stream Time & Love:
The 50 Best Summer Songs by Kidsongs:
A fun collection for kids, this singalong set includes the songs: Barefootin’, Catch A Wave, In The Gold Old Summertime, Yes! We Have No Bananas, Bicycle Built For Two, On Top of Spaghetti &The Hokey Pokey.
Here’s the link to stream the 50 Best Summer Songs LP:
Summer Song (Original Cast; 1956 musical):
This musical is based upon the composer Antonin Dvorak’s visit to Iowa. And I was surprised to stumble across a classic musical whilst browsing through the Freegal Music Catalog! Songs include: Just Around The Corner, Once A Year Is Not Long Enough, Murphy’s Pig & Sing Me A Song.
Here’s a link to stream the Summer Song musical:
III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week:
All the albums released by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones & The Who between 1967 and 1970 are worthy of a listen; so I’m going to start out by listing the albums each group released during that pivotal three year period and then suggest several albums that are in the library’s collection.
The Beatles Albums Released Between 1967 – 1970:
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Magical Mystery Tour Soundtrack (1968)
The Beatles (aka The White Album) (1968)
Let It Be (1970)
The Rolling Stone’s Albums Released Between 1967 – 1970:
Between the Buttons (1967)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) (And yes, they really did title an album “Their Satanic Majesties Request” – they were playing their bad-boy-anti-Beatles alternative band persona to the hilt)
Let It Bleed (1969)
Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out (1970)
The Who’s Albums Released Between 1967 – 1971:
And I know that is really a baker’s dozen three years! However, I just couldn’t leave out the classic album Who’s Next which was released in 1971.
The Who Sell Out (1967)
Live At Leeds (1970)
If you’re new to listening to Beatles albums, and I’m sure there are few people out there that have heard their songs on the radio but never listen to their albums, I’d recommend you start with their masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as it is recognized by most music fans and critics to be their best album. If you’re game to listen to a second full-length album by the band I’d recommend the one that is my personal favorite – Abbey Road. All The Beatles albums are available for request through StarCat.
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
1. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With a Little Help from My Friends
3. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
5. Fixing a Hole
6. She’s Leaving Home
7. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I’m Sixty-Four
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day in the Life
Here’s a link to request the CD version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band:
3. Maxwell’s Silver Hammer
6. I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
7. Here Comes the Sun
9. You Never Give me Your Money
11. Mean Mr. Mustard
13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
15. Carry That Weight
Here’s the link to request the Abbey Road CD:
Between The Buttons, Flowers & Beggars Banquet will be available for request in StarCat soon.
In the meantime, the greatest hits collection Hot Rocks 1964-71 is available for request. This two disc set contains 21 songs including: Time Is On My Side, Play With Fire, Satisfaction, Ruby Tuesday, Street Fighting Man and Jumpin’ Jack Flash.
The Rolling Stones – Hot Rocks 1946-1971
Here’s a link to request Hot Rocks:
The Who – Who’s Next
3. Love Ain’t For Keeping
The Song Is Over
Won’t Get Fooled Again
Here’s a link to request the Who’s Next CD:
IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups
A Day In The Life
The Stones obviously aren’t into local history or they’d have saved all those old papers!
Won’t Get Fooled Again
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)
Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)
Chip Taylor Biography by William Ruhlmann:
The Beatles AllMusic Discography, written by Richie Unterberger: https://goo.gl/0sfb5m
The Rolling Stones Discography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Who Discography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Have a great day! Linda, SSCL
P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.
Tagged Billy Vaughn, Children's Music, Chip Taylor, Corning NY, Dave Brubeck, Dick Dale, digital content, free music, Freegal Music Service, George Winston, Gorgoni, Henry Mancini, Hot Rocks, Jazz:THE MUSIC OF AMERICA: Inventing Jazz, Jukebox Oldies Rockin' Summer, Kidsongs, Link Wray, Little Richard, Lovin’ Spoonful, Marilee Rush, Martin & Taylor, public library, Ronnie & The Daytonas, Sam & Dave, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Skeeter Davis, Southeast Steuben County Library, Southern Tier Library System, streaming music, Summer Breese, Summer Music, Summer Solstice 2, Summer Song Musical, Summer Songs, Surf, Taj Mahal, The Beatles, The Brothers Four, The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Who's Next, Will Ackerman, Windham HillLeave a comment
Weekly Recommended Listens: May 2017, Week 3: Sixties Rock: The First British Invasion Continued
May 21, 2017 Linda Reimer
Hi everyone, this week we’re continuing our look at the sounds of the first British Invasion that ran, roughly, from February of 1964 to May 31, 1967.
And as a reminder, each weekly recommended music posting features following sections:
I. Links To AllMusic Biographies Of The Weekly Artists/Groups
II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week (streaming music)
III. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week
IV. Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups
V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week
VI. References (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).
Our artists for this week are The Rolling Stones, The Kinks & The Animals.
And just FYI as a beginning note, since we’re taking a look at the early years of The British Invasion you won’t find recommendations for any music released after the end of May 1967. We’ll take a look at the music of the second British Invasion, that ran from June 1, 1967 through the end of the sixties in July.
I. Links to AllMusic Artist Bios:
The Rolling Stones Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Kinks Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Animals Biography by Bruce Eder
To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:
The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:
The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:
II. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:
Carol from the Various Artists LP Canciones Con Nombre De Mujer Vol. 2
The Rolling Stones original line-up included Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards on guitar, Brian Jones on guitar, Bill Wyman on bass and Charlie Watts on drums. And the Freegal Music Catalog doesn’t contain any full-length albums by The Rolling Stones. However, I did discover the catalog features a live version of The Stones covering Chuck Berry’s Carol that offers you a good idea of their early sound.
Here’s a link to the live version of Carol is from the Various Artists LP Canciones Con Nombre De Mujer Vol. 2
This is indeed the first album released by The Kinks. The original line-up of the group included brothers Ray and Dave Davies on guitars, Mick Avery on drums and Peter Quaife on bass. And this album showcases their early, raw classic rock sound as epitomized by songs like You Really Got Me and All Day And All Of The Night. As the sixties progressed and Ray Davies songwriting skills matured the sounds of the band transformed into a smoother more polished style of rock. This collection of music though, aptly shows off the early, earthy sound of the Kinks and includes the songs: You Really Got Me, Beautiful Delilah, So Mystifying, Too Much Monkey Business, I’m A Lover Not A Fighter, Revenge and Stop Your Sobbing.
The Animals On Their Own – The Dave Cash Collection:
If you’re wondering who on Earth Dave Cash was? You’re not alone! I’d never heard of him before I did the research for this posting. It turns out he was the British equivalent to Dave Clark — a long time D J who worked for The B.B.C. for more than fifty years.
But I digress! Back to The Animals! The Animals original line-up included Eric Burdon on vocals, John Steel on drums, Alan Price on keyboard, Chas Chandler on bass and Hilton Valentine on guitar. The group played really great traditional rhythm and blues based rock. And unlike The Stones and The Kinks who branched out stylistically by writing their own songs The Animals remained true to their traditional R&B and rock roots – and you can hear that in all their music.This collection offers a great introduction to the band including the songs: House Of The Rising Sun, Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood, Bring It On Home, When I was Young and Hard Times.
The Animals On Their Own – The Dave Cash Collection
Freegal Wild Card Streaming Pick Of The Week:
Here is an interesting album featuring a mixture of fuzzy guitars and clear vocals – today I suppose you’d classify this album as Indie Rock. I like the sound of this Australian band and also, being a cat fan, I like the name of the group too!
“The Summer Cats aren’t the kind of cats who like to curl up and purr the day away, they’re more apt to chase things, run around wildly, and basically tear stuff up. The Australian quintet states their aim as clearly as possible on the first track of their first album Songs for Tuesdays. “Let’s Go” bursts out of the gate with a supercharged Flying Nun-inspired attack (the Clean especially, but also some early Chills too) built around fuzzy guitars, peppy organ, and shouted vocals. The rest of the album follows in kind with barely a break for breath. Thirteen songs in 32 minutes doesn’t leave a lot of space for meandering or epic ballads or wasting time with guitar solos; it does leave plenty of space for memorable hooks and for songs that sound like they were created just to be played loudly in the summertime. Any summer mixtape would be improved by the addition of the noisy rocker “Hey You,” the droning Stereolab-esque “Lonely Planet,” or the wildly oscillating “St. Tropez.” You could really take any song and plug it into that sentence; the record is that strong and unified. The only complaint you might have with a record as tightly constructed as this could be that the songs all run together. The group heads this off in a couple of ways. While bandleader Scott Stevens takes most of the vocals, he turns a few over to other members of the group, most notably Irene, who provides the innocent female vocals that pair up with Stevens’ slightly manic tones perfectly. Secondly, they vary the sound of each song just a little bit. Some songs are heavy; some are lighter than air. Some have distorted guitars; some have clean and jangly guitars. It’s an admirable attention to detail that does a world of good. The Summer Cats spent a few years honing their sound on singles and EPs, and it really pays off on their debut. It’s the sound of a great rock band playing and writing at the peak of their game, and Songs for Tuesdays is an album anyone with a fondness for spiky, catchy, and super fun indie pop should own.”
–AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra–
III. Compact Discs Recommendations:
Out of Our Heads (1965):
Out of Our Heads shows the Stones at a great time in their career. The band was still playing music that mixed traditional rhythm and blues with the sounds of classic rock and they were still covering other artists songs while also branching out and writing their own songs. This great album includes some super covers songs including Don Covay’s Mercy, Mercy, Bo Diddley’s I’m Alright, Marvin Gaye’s Hitch Hike and Sam Cooke’s Good Times. The album also includes some great original songs by Jagger & Richards including: The Last Time, Play With Fire, The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man, The Spider & The Fly and one of their all-time biggest hits — Satisfaction.
This CD isn’t quite ready to circulate but should be in the next few days – here’s a link to the request page in StarCat: https://goo.gl/9obOZz
Face to Face (1966)
The Kinks were so much more than the sum of the hits they had – great songs though they were – the band was capable of producing excellent albums that flowed together as compared to simply being a group that whose albums featured hit singles.
This album received a great AllMusic review, which praises the album and notes that it is “One of the finest collections of pop songs released during the ’60s.” And I agree with that assessment!
When you listen to the early sound of The Kinks, as heard on their first album from 1964, and compare it to the sound of this album, released just a scant two years later — you can hear how the band has matured. Songs like the Dandy, Too Much on My Mind, Rainy Day in June, Sunny Afternoon and, my favorite, Party Line are really great classic rock songs that feature cool, creative lyrics.
And I do have to wonder – who out there even has a party line anymore?
But once upon time people did!
And this great album will be available in StarCat and our New CD Section shortly — it isn’t quite ready to circulate yet.
I will update this posting to include a request link for the album on CD as soon as it is ready to circulate.
The Animals, like The Rolling Stones started out playing a combination of traditional rhythm and blues and classic rock with a heavy emphasis on rhythm and blues. This is a great album! And in his review of Animalisms AllMusic editor Bruce Elder describes it nicely as “a truly transcendent collection of a dozen songs, mostly superb covers interspersed with some good originals, principally by Eric Burdon and Dave Rowberry. Burdon was never singing better and the group had developed a bold, tight sound that seemed to lift his soul shouting to ever higher levels of passion and conviction.” This album features twenty five songs including: Maudie, Sweet Little Sixteen, Gin House Blues, I Put A Spell on You, Don’t Bring Me Down and Inside Looking Out.
And this album too, is not quite ready to circulate, It will be available in StarCat and our New CD Section shortly.
I will update this posting to include a request link for the album on CD as soon as it is ready to circulate.
IV: Videos Of This Weeks’ Artists/Groups:
The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man
The Spider and the Fly
A Well Respected Man
End of the Season
The Big Boys by Chuck Berry – this is Berry’s first ever music video from his forthcoming album Chuck – being released posthumously in June:
V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation Of The Week:
Talking Guitar: Conversations with Musicians Who Shaped Twentieth-Century American Music
In this lively collection of interviews, storied music writer Jas Obrecht presents a celebration of the world’s most popular instrument as seen through the words, lives, and artistry of some of its most beloved players. Readers will read–and hear–accounts of the first guitarists on record, pioneering bluesmen, gospel greats, jazz innovators, country pickers, rocking rebels, psychedelic shape-shifters, singer-songwriters, and other movers and shakers. In their own words, these guitar players reveal how they found their inspirations, mastered their instruments, crafted classic songs, and created enduring solos. Also included is a CD of never-before-heard moments from Obrecht’s insightful interviews with these guitar greats.
Highlights include Nick Lucas’s recollections of waxing the first noteworthy guitar records; Ry Cooder’s exploration of prewar blues musicians; Carole Kaye and Ricky Nelson on the early years of rock and roll; Stevie Ray Vaughan on Jimi Hendrix; Gregg Allman on his brother, Duane Allman; Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, and Pops Staples on spirituality in music; Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, and Tom Petty on songwriting and creativity; and early interviews with Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Ben Harper.
The Animals – Animalisms AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits by Joel Whitburn (Billboard Books. New York. 2009.)
DJ Dave Cash celebrates 50 years on the air
The Kinks – Face to Face AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Kinks Something Else Reviewed by Thomas Erlewine – AllMusic
The Kinks – The Kinks AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
The Rolling Stones – Out Of Our Heads AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide by Robert Santelli (Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.)
Summer Cats Songs for Tuesday AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra
Have a great day!
P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music Catalog to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713
*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.
Tagged Animalisms, Conversations with Musicians Who Shaped Twentieth-Century American Music, Corning NY, digital content, Eric Burdon, Face To Face, free music, Freegal Music Service, Guitars, Jas Obrecht, music, Out Of Our Heads, public library, Ray Davies, Sixties R&B, Sixties Rock, Southeast Steuben County Library, Southern Tier Library System, streaming music, Talking Guitar, The Animals, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, The Summer CatsLeave a comment
Weekly Recommended Listens: February 2017: Week 2: Sixties Rock: Twangy Guitars Continued
February 22, 2017February 22, 2017 Linda Reimer
Here’s our delayed weekly recommended music posting for the week of February 13, 2017.
As you may know, STLS has been upgrading equipment over the last week and StarCat has been up and down  – but this morning it is up for good so here are the music recommendations for last week and the recommendations for this week will be up by Saturday.
In succeeding weeks my plan is to have the Weekly Suggested Listening Recommendations posted on Thursdays — and I’ll start doing that next week – starting Thursday, March 2.
These weekly postings will offering suggestions of music you can listen to both through the library’s digital Freegal Music Service* and via the library’s compact disc collection. Our music theme for this year is Sixties Rock and our monthly theme Twangy Guitars. This weeks’ posting has five sections:
I. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week
II. CD Music Recommendations Of The Week
IV. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation: This recommendation will be a print book that focuses on a musician, musicians, songwriters or other musical genres, styles etc. from any musical era.
V. References & Brief Artist Bios (for those who’d like to know a bit more about the artists of the week).
This week our recommended trios of twangy guitar players, and their bands, are:
Johnny & The Hurricanes, The Shadows & The Ventures!
I. Freegal Music Recommendations Of The Week:
1. Johnny & The Hurricanes: Greatest Hits by Johnny and the Hurricanes:
This collection features the hits and more! J&TH best known songs are here including – Red River Rock, Beatnik Fly and Reveille Rock as are a number of other fun, bouncy favorites.
Here’s the link to the album:
2. The Shadows – Various Artists Collection Guitar Greats:
There is a complete album by The Shadows found in the Freegal Music Catalog; that album is titled The Albums and EP’s Collection 1961-1962 (https://goo.gl/OyqLGw); however, since the album covers a super short period of time and doesn’t feature their best known hits I’m going to recommend you stream a different album and then if you really love the sound of The Shadows you can go back and stream the Albums and EP’s Collection LP!
The album I’m recommending is a various artists collection titled Guitar Greats and it features music by many popular instrumentalists of the early sixties including Santo & Johnny (Sleep Walk), The Champs (Tequila), Bill Justis (Raunchy), Bo Diddley, Les Paul, Dick Dale, The Scotty Moore Trio and many more! And the album features three of The Shadows best -known hits: Apache, Kon-Tiki and Wonderful Land.
Here’s a link to the album:
3. The Ventures – No Trespassing – The First Four Albums:
The Ventures are, undoubtedly, the best known instrumental rock group of the sixties. And this collection includes the first four Ventures albums: Walk Don’t Run, The Ventures, Another Smash! and The Colorful Ventures. Included in this collection are some of the ventures most popular songs including: Perfidia, Ram Bunk Shush, Walk Don’t Run, Raunchy, Rawhide and more!
And a neat item of note as described by the publishers “Also included on this superb  set is a rare July 1961 radio interview with Ventures main men Bob Bogle and Don Wilson.”
Here’s a link to the album:
To access Freegal Music from a desktop or laptop simply click on the following link:
The Freegal Music Catalog homepage will display — it looks like this:
The Freegal Music app can be found in your app store and it looks like this:
Freegal Wild Card Pick Of The Week:
The Wild Card Pick Of The Week may feature a recommended musician, band, composer or musical style of any time in the history of recorded music and is not tied to our yearly theme – thus the title “Wild Card Freegal Pick Of The Week.”
So without further ado here’s the Wild Card Freegal Music Pick for this week:
Traditional Music from Cape Breton Island by various artists:
This various artists collection includes music by Natalie MacMaster! Corning Civic Music fans may recall that Natalie MacMaster, and her husband Donnell Leahy, kicked off the 2016-2017 Civic Music concert series. I was fortunate enough to attend their September 24, 2016 concert and boy, can they both play the fiddle! Natalie MacMaster plays on two songs on this compilation: The Bonnie Lass of Headlake & Irish Lasses. Other artists featured in this collection include: Jerry Holland, John Morris Rankin, Brenda Stubbert, Howie MacDonald, Dougie MacDonald and more. If you like traditional fiddle music – you’ll like this album!
Here’s the Freegal link to the album:
About Requesting CDs This Week: Due to the upgrade of catalog equipment, not all of our recently added items, books, DVDs, CDs etc., are currently listed in StarCat even though they are available on our shelves – this includes three of our four CD recommendations the CDs by Johnny & The Hurricanes, The Ventures and our Wild Card CD pick of the week — Charley Pride’s four album collection Charley Pride – Country Charley Pride/The Country Way/Pride Of Country Music/Make Mine Country; those three CDs are available on our shelves so you can pick them up today. And of course, you can always call us and ask us to place requests for items and/or pull available items from our shelves and leave them at the Circulation Desk so you can pick them up later.
The library’s phone number is: 607-936-3713 and entering extension 501 will get you a live person to assist you!
And now, on to the recommended CDs!
II. Compact Discs Recommendations:
1. Johnny & The Hurricanes:
The Very Best Of Johnny & The Hurricanes
by Johnny & The Hurricanes:
This CD set contains 50 of the bands original recordings on two CDs. The hits are all here as are a solid number of other fun rocking tunes including: Red River Rock, Crossfire, Joy Ride, Milk Shake, Corn Bread, The Kid, Beatnik Fly, Traffic Jam and more!
2. The Shadows: Two Classic Albums Plus by The Shadows:
This set includes the classic Shadows albums The Shadows and Out of The Shadows as well as their classic era singles and EPs. The set includes over 100 hundred great classic instrumental songs! The songs include: Guitar Tango, FBI, Kon Tiki, Wonderful Land, Bongo Blues, Shadoogie, That’s My Desire and more!
Here’s a link to the request page for the CD:
3. The Ventures – No Trespassing – The First Four Albums:
The Ventures are, undoubtedly, the best known instrumental rock group of the sixties. And if you’ve read this entire posting to this point – then this will sound familiar!
And if think you’ve read it before – you have!
This is the exact same album I recommend you stream from the Freegal Music Catalog – this is simply the CD version instead!
As a reminder the collection includes the first four Ventures albums: Walk Don’t Run, The Ventures, Another which collectively contain more than 50 songs.
Wild Card CD Pick Of The Week:
Charley Pride – Country Charley Pride/The Country Way/Pride Of Country Music/Make Mine Country by Charley Pride
Our Wild Card CD Pick Of The Week is a four album CD set by the great country artists Charley Pride. The set, which includes four of Pride’s first five albums.
Charley Pride, began his recording career in the 1960s. Pride, who is black, broke the stereotypical mold by singing and recording country music. During his recording career he’s earned 36 number one country songs, 4 platinum and 30 gold albums! If you’re unfamiliar with his music he has an easy going voice and style which is somehow reassuring to listen to no matter what subject his is singing about. The songs in this collection include his first hit The Snake Crawls At Night, Yonder Comes A Sucker, The Last Thing On My Mind, Spell Of The Freight Train, Just Between You & Me and many more!
Johnny & The Hurricanes:
Red River Rock live version recorded in 1981.
(A slightly fuzzy video – but you can see the actual band playing)
Red Rover Rock (original version) – the sounds is good for this video but you don’t get to see the band playing, instead you’re treated to 2 minutes of looking at a vintage photo of the group gathered around their touring van.
Here’s a cool video of the Shadows playing their biggest hit – Apache.
Introduced by Dick Clark here’s a link to a clip of the Ventures playing their biggest hit Walk—Don’t Run:
V. Wild Card Print Book Recommendation:
The Rolling Stones by Reuel Golden:
This is a great 522 page book, published by Taschen (they’re known for their photos) that features top notch photos of the Rolling Stones over the years. This book is what we use to call a “coffee table book” because of its size and the beautiful photos it contains. The book is about the size of three large pizza boxes and is a bit weighty so you’ll get a mini work out when you pick it up. Check it out!
Here’s the publisher description of the book:
“We were lucky enough to work with some of the greatest photographers in the world who captured many magical moments of our career. This volume brings together some incredible pictures spanning the past fifty years.” Mick Jagger
“This book isn’t just rock ‘n’ roll, it’s a roller coaster through fifty years of memory lane! “Keith Richards Ladies and gentlemen…The Rolling Stones!
The definitive, authorized illustrated history of the world’s greatest rock ‘n’ roll band
The kind of fame and success The Rolling Stones have achieved in their 50-years and counting career is without parallel; their most famous riffs and catchiest lyrics are indelibly engraved in our collective memory. With their bluesy rock ‘n’ roll and mesmerizing off and onstage presence, the Stones redefined the music of the 1960s and 1970s and paved the way for rock as we know it today. They also set the standard for how a rock band should look and behave. Produced in close collaboration with the band, this book charts the Stones’ remarkable history and outrageously cool lifestyle in over 500 pages of photographs and illustrations, many previously unseen, and gathered from archives all over the world. Unprecedented access to the Rolling Stones’ own archives in New York and London adds an equally extraordinary, more private side to their story. For Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie this is their official photographic record.
Over 500 pages of incredible images from some of the world’s greatest photographers, including David Bailey, Peter Beard, Cecil Beaton, Anton Corbijn, Annie Leibovitz, Gered Mankowitz, Helmut Newton, Bent Rej, and Norman Parkinson
V. Brief Artists Bios, General References & Artist Specific References:
Johnny & The Hurricanes:
Johnny & The Hurricanes formed in Toledo, Ohio in 1958. And they can be thought of as a roll over band in the sense that they were popular in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. The classic line up of the band included Paul Tesluk on organ, Dave Yorko on guitar, Lionel “Butch” Mattice on bass, Tony Kaye on drums and saxophonist and band leader Johnny Paris on saxophone. The group differed from The Ventures and The Shadows, who were guitar-centric, in prominently featuring the saxophone and organ playing of, respectively, Paris and Tesluk. Their most popular songs include: Crossfire, Reveille Rock, Beatnik Fly and their biggest hit Red River Rock. The group was exceptionally popular in Europe and when they played the Cavern Club in Hamburg, Germany in the early 60’s their opening act was a then little known band called The Beatles! Paris continued to tour with various versions of the band until he died in 2006.
The Shadows: The Shadows formed in Hertfordshire, U.K. in the late 1950s. Their classic line up consisted of guitarists Hank B. Marvin & Bruce Welsh, drummer Jet Harris and drummer Tony Meehan.
The Shadows were Britain’s answer to the Ventures and the first British rock group to hold sway over the British charts – they were the most popular British rock group in the pre-Beatles era. The Shadows were originally named The Drifters and first stepped into the international lime light as British pop star as singer Cliff Richard’s back-up band. They changed their name to The Shadows in the early 1960s when the great American R&B group The Drifters emerged. Some of the Shadows most prominent songs include: Apache, F.B.I. Guitar Tanto, Don’t Make My Baby Blue & Kon-Tiki
The Shadow never had a hit in America; however, Shadows lead guitarist Hank Marvin cast a strong influence on succeeding generations of British guitarists and became the  U. K.’s first guitar super star so he really does rate mention right up there the other great American instrumental guitarists of the early Sixites era: Steve Cropper (Booker T. & The MG’s), Duane Eddy, Link Wray and Nokie Edwards (The Ventures).
The Ventures were formed in Tacoma, Washington in 1959 and originally consisted of Bob Bugle on bass, Don Wilson on rhythm guitar, Nokie Edwards on lead guitar and Howie Johnson on drums. The classic line up of this guitar centered band included the previously mentioned Bugle, Wilson, Edwards and Mel Taylor on drums.
The Ventures are quite probably the best known instrumental rock group of all time and continue to play concerts to this day. Some of their most well-known hits include: Walk—Don’t Run, Ram-Bunk-Shush and Perfida.
Also notable is the fact that the Ventures jumped on the LP bandwagon by putting out long-playing records with themes. For example, one of their albums is titled The Colorful Ventures which features songs with colors in their title; another is titled The Ventures Perform the Great TV Themes. Ironically, one of their most popular albums,  The Ventures Play Telstar & The Lonely Bull, departed from that format and featured a number of well-known songs that have nothing to do with each other, from a thematic standpoint, including: Green Onions, Red River Rock, Percolator, Last Night, Let There Be Drums, Tequila, Apache and of course — Telstar.
Santelli, Robert. Sixties Rock: A Listener’s Guide. Contemporary Books. Chicago. 1985.
Corning Civic Music. http://www.corningcivicmusic.org/
Corning Civic Music: Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy. https://goo.gl/ne43G9
Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books. New York. 2009.
Johnny & The Hurricanes References:
Johnny & The Hurricanes Artist Biography by Heather Phares. AllMusic.com.
Johnny Paris. American Pop Musician Who Led From Saxophone. The Guardian.
The Shadows. Artists Biography by Bruce Eder. AllMusic.
The Ventures: Artist Biography by John Bush. AllMusic.
That is it for our music recommendations for the week of February 13 – the newest recommended Sixties listening suggestions will be posted by Saturday.
Have a great day!
P.S. If you have any questions about how to download or stream free music through the Freegal Music service to a desktop or laptop computer or how to download and use the Freegal Music app let us know! Drop by the library or give us a call at: 607-936-3713
*You must have a library card at a Southern Tier Library System member library to enjoy the Freegal Music Service. Your card can be from any library in the system, and the system includes all public libraries in Steuben, Chemung, Yates, Schuyler and Allegheny Counties and including our own Southeast Steuben Count Library in Corning, New York. Library cards are free and at our library you can obtain one by visiting the Circulation Desk and presenting staff with a form of ID that features both your name and your current address.
Tagged Cape Breton, Cape Breton Island, CDs, Classic Rock, Compact Discs, Corning NY, Freegal Music, Freegal Music Service, Guitar Rock, Instrumental Rock, Johnny & The Hurricanes, music, Natalie MacMaster, public library, Sixties Rock, Southeast Steuben County Library, The Rolling Stones, The Shadows, The Ventures:Leave a comment