Tony Coulter here, rendered somewhat sluggish by the seasonal admixture of egg nog and champagne. I'll keep it sweet and short this time, and simply share with you two fine releases from 2010. Plus, of course, I've festooned the place with a smattering of LP jackets to help keep your holiday spirits high.
And now, please step into THE FUTURE...
... or, actually, THE PAST, as the first release on hand consists of live recordings from 1990. But a past you haven't experienced yet is still the future, isn't it?
Be that as it may, First Time in Aachen features one of my very favorite bands -- the Belgian duo of Alain Neffe and Nadine Bal, aka Bene Gesserit -- in more-than-fine and previously unreleased form. Only 300 copies of the CD were pressed, so if you like what your ears do hear, you might want to take yourself here.
Bene Gesserit: First Time in Aachen (EE Tapes, 2010) CD
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Opera Mort / Smegma: Opera Mort / Smegma (Scumbag Relations / Sleepy Cobalt Sounds, 2010) cassette [split release]
Next up is a split release on cassette, featuring the fab French band Opera Mort, and on the flip side two tracks from Portland's sonic stalwarts, Smegma. Below you'll find a portion of the second Smegma emanation, recorded in 2009 by a lineup consisting of Oblivia, Ju Suk Reet Meate, Nour Mobarak, and Parke Lemus. The cassette might be obtainable here (wasn't there when I looked!); for more about Smegma, see my January 2010 BotB interview with Mr. Reet Meate.
Smegma: Nitecap [excerpt]
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And now, the parade of jolly jackets will pass in review:
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Bill Dodds & Bob Friedlander: The Big Band of the Thirties Playing the Big Music of the Seventies (Ri-Li Records, 1976) LP [detail]
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Felicitas Karrer / Vienna Tonkuenstler Symphony Orchestra: Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, opus 16 (Plymouth, 195?) LP
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Sarah Vaughan / Maxine Sullivan / Pearl Bailey: Queens of Jazz (Viking, 196?) LP
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Mark Laub: Mark Laub and the Lowrey Go Hawaiian (Golden Crest Records, 1958) LP
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Georges Montalba: A Hi-Fi Fantasy in Pipe Organ and Percussion (Somerset Records, 1958) LP
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Marion Center Cadet Band: Marion Center Cadet Band (Grubb Associates Recording, 197?) LP
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Hoffman Information Systems: Mrs. Fitzgerald's House (Hoffman Information Systems, 1972) 7" single in 12" jacket
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Various Artists: Musical Memories from Munich to Heidelberg (Telefunken, 196?) LP
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George Wright: The Roaring 20's (High Fidelity Recordings, 1959) LP
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That's it for now -- see you next in twuny-oh-leaven....
Art: Agnes Allen
Georges Montalba is not Anton Levey, that is a bogus rumor/offhand comment of Levey's that was really just him BS-ing. The jacket for the Montalba is a stock jacket with additional print over the front. There are other albums with the same stock jacket.
Posted by: fred | December 30, 2010 at 05:26 PM
Thanks Fred for dispelling the Anton Lavey myth... there were a few times I was tempted to buy the Montalba Lp for my girlfriend;Now I'm off the hook!
Posted by: RAYMOND S. | December 30, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Great post! I'm trying to imagine that Dodds & Friedlander record and failing; also, Google doesn't seem to know about the album either.
Posted by: milo | January 02, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Thanks, Milo! You can hear Dodds & Friedlander's take on "Close to You" on this old playlist of mine:
http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/17744
Posted by: Tony Coulter | January 02, 2011 at 04:47 PM