Studio Sound Orchestra - Souvenirs from Hawaii

We've already visited this album in a previous post, albeit under a different title, 20 Melodies from Paradise, and a different (and definitely more pleasing) cover. The tracks on both albums are the same, although in a different order.

In any case you can find more detailed information in the previous entry. If you're a fan of traditional Hawaiian music you could do worse than pick up this CD. It was most likely recorded in Europe rather than Hawaii (date unknown) but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Cheap copies under either title -- Souvenirs from Hawaii (1992) or 20 Melodies from Paradise (1989) -- are available almost everywhere. Thrift store bins are another likely source. In the meantime, another sample is available below.

Aloha Oe

American Folk Blues Festival - 1962-1965

Some of the most influential American blues musicians, including harp player Big Walter Horton, were introduced to European audiences through the American Folk Blues Festival, a 10-year series of events that began in 1962. The festival's early years were documented in a five-CD set issued by Evidence in 1995. Many of the selections had been previously issued on vinyl but there were also plenty of unreleased gems in the CD release.

The All Music Guide describes Horton (1918-1981) as "one of the most influential blues harmonica players of all time, and a particular pioneer in the field of amplified harmonica." But Horton, a shy man, was never as popular as other harp greats like Little Walter or Sonny Boy Williamson II, preferring the more anonymous life of a sideman. He played on classic Chess recordings by the likes of Muddy Waters, Johnny Shines and Otis Rush, as well as recording some sides of his own for producer Willie Dixon.

I remember seeing Horton perform with Dixon at a college in Nelson, British Columbia, in the early 1970s, a show that also included pianist Lafayette Leake and other musicians from the Chess studios. Seating was on a concrete floor, no chairs, and the opening act was a horrible white blues-rock band. The main attraction was worth the discomfort, however.

Four of the discs in the American Folk Blues Festival set are live recordings, but the fifth is a studio session. From it comes Blues Harp Shuffle by Horton.

Blues Harp Shuffle



The box set of the festival's first years is still available from various sources. Expect to pay about $60; not bad for a five-disc set. As well some tracks from festival performances are available as downloads from the usual places. And there are DVDs of many of the concerts. A Google search will give you all the information you need.

Here's a great YouTube video of Big Walter Horton playing at an American Folk Blues Festival concert in Copenhagen in 1970.

Ray Flacke - Untitled Island

I must admit never having heard of guitarist Ray Flacke before stumbling across a cassette copy of Untitled Island in a discount bin some years ago.

But this British-born country guitarist (resident in Nashville since the late 1970s) has quite the resumé: He has been in Marty Stuart's touring band and played on albums by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Travis Tritt and Ricky Skaggs.

If you love guitar instrumentals, you'll want to search for a copy of Untitled Island, released in 1991 by RJM Records. A link to a sample track, lifted from the cassette, is below.

Devotion to the Dog



You have to be rich (or lucky) to be able to buy a copy of Untitled Island on CD. Even rarer is Songs Without Words, a 2004 acoustic album Flacke did for his own label. Neither album appears to be available as a download.

Flacke is featured on several guitar instructional websites, including guitarinstructor.com. There are also a couple of Flacke videos on You Tube. Here's one:

Flacke does not have a website and unfortunately does not appear to be active in music at the moment.

Jimmy McGriff - One of Mine

Organist Jimmy McGriff (1936-2008) regularly placed his singles on the R&B charts in the 1960s, beginning with his instrumental version of Ray Charles's I Got a Woman in 1962. That was also the title of his debut album for Sue Records.

One of Mine (1963) was his second album, again containing lots of jukebox and radio ready grooves sure to garner plenty of exposure. The title cut and The Last Minute were the prime singles from this LP. On the flip of the One of Mine 45 was Broadway, in a version considerably shortened from the album cut, which ran about 5:40. The single version is available from the link below.

Broadway



One of Mine was released on CD by the ever reliable Collectables label in 1996 with this cover:

It is widely available and prices start at less than $5 in the Amazon Marketplace.

Some of McGriff's Sue recordings (Broadway is not among them) are available via downloads from various sources.

From YouTube here's the 45 version of One of Mine. Again, the LP cut is considerably longer.

When the Music Resumes

Posting -- and the music -- will resume on or about Oct. 23 after a vacation break.

Oscar Peterson Sings Nat King Cole

Oscar Peterson Sings Nat King Cole is a 1970s British budget label reissue of an album called With Respect to Nat, which was released on the Limelight label in the U.S. in 1965.

The LP came out shortly after Cole's death and in his tribute Peterson, who didn't sing on record very often, sounds very much like Nat. On half of the tracks he's backed by a big band arranged and conducted by Manny Albam. On the rest former Oscar Peterson Trio members Herb Ellis (guitar) and Ray Brown (bass) provide the support. Overall the album provides a very pleasant listen. Below is a sample taken from the Contour vinyl reissue.

When My Sugar Walks Down the Street



If you like what your hear, you're in luck. The album is available almost everywhere on either CD or as a download under the original title With Respect to Nat.

Listen to another song from With Respect to Nat in this YouTube offering.

Honolulu Guitars - Songs of Hawaii

Hawaiian music must have been very popular in the 1950s and 60s judging by the number of ultra-cheap albums of this genre that flooded bins in discount, grocery and drug stores. Seldom did record stores carry albums like Songs of Hawaii by the Honolulu Guitars.

Like many of these low-priced LPs, which often sold for as little as 99 cents, Songs of Hawaii contains absolutely no credits -- no musicians, no composers, no source, not even a release date. This probably came out in the mid- to late 60s, although the music sounds like it was recorded years earlier.

The recording could well have been done by session cats in the continental U.S., possibly in Los Angeles. In any case, below is a sample from the LP, with a rather generic Hawaiian title. Despite the "mono" label on the picture above, this track is in very echoey stereo, likely doctored from a mono recording.

Aloha



There were several LPs released by the Power label under the moniker of the Honolulu Guitars. One, titled simply Hawaii, is available as a download from Amazon. Listen before buying, however, as it's probably dubbed from vinyl.

The Power label albums show up regularly on the online auction sites, but there's something about paying $6 and up for an album that originally sold for 99 cents (sometimes less) that turns me off. What makes matters worse is that these albums are often of poor technical quality -- lots of hiss and vinyl pops and clicks even when new.

My suggestion is to keep an eye on those thrift store bins.