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Basie Swingin' Voices Singin'


gmonahan

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So, is this album (without which my Basie collection will not exactly starve) the only Basie *studio* album that has never been issued on cd? Even for five minutes in Japan (like "Basie's Beat")? Or has it been issued, and I can't find it? I have to confess that I sort of like pieces of it.

There must be others?

It is on youtube, for those who want to sample it: Basie Swingin' Voices Singin'

 

gregmo

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Yikes .... VERY "period-ish" indeed. :D

Among my dozens of other Basie LPs I have a couple of Basie items from that period too (e.g. those "Baise Way" LPs on Command) but not this (and would not go out of my way., I guess). But if you're in the mood it is bound to be fun ...

Though that "Happiness Is .." really is a PAINFUL way to start off ... Can you imagine lyrics that are more contrived than this ...? <_<

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Here's the original:

Which was quickly, quickly, adapted for this, which I still remember.

 

From one of the songwriters, Paul Evans: http://forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2010/01/ad-nauseam.html

 

I wrote “Happiness Is” with Paul Parnes (Elvis – “The Next Step Is Love”, Me -“Santa’s Stuck Up In The Chimney”).
It was originally recorded by Ray Conniff and charted on Billboard. The singers on the Kent commercial were studio singers with an arrangement à la the Conniff recording.


At the time, cigarette commercials were allowed on radio and TV, but they couldn’t equate cigarette smoking with good feelings. The advertising agency figured that the song was popular enough so listeners would just hear the melody where the words “Happiness Is” belonged, hear the commercial’s lyric, “the taste of Kent”, and put them together subliminally - Voilà, “Happiness Is the taste of Kent”.
The commercial ran for three years plus.

Hopefully this eases the pain. Or at least redirects it!

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"Happiness Is" apparently charted off of the album, reaching some mediocre number on the Easy Listening charts. I didn't even know there WERE Easy Listening charts!

I'm still wondering about the whole cd thing, whether this one ever came out on cd, and whether there are any other Basie albums that have never yet made it to cd.

 

 

gregmo

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What about The Happiest Millionaire? Half A Sixpence (with Illinois Jacquet, btw)? The album with Jackie Wilson, Manufacturers Of Soul (still not convinced that's really Basie's band, but who knows? How About This with Kay Starr (better than feared, not as good as hoped for?

 

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15 hours ago, duaneiac said:

I do recall seeing a CD reissue of the Count Basie - Jackie Wilson album in a store several years ago.  Not sure if it was a Japanese reissue or what.

Yes, that one was reissued on cd: Manufacturers of Soul

The comments on Amazon claim to have bought "How About This?" on cd, but site doesn't list it, so I have no idea about that one! How About This

 

But "Half a Sixpence" is new to me Jim! Is it any good?!

 

 

gregmo

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It's ok one song at a time, but my experience with the Chico O'Farrill albums is that unless Lockjaw's on board, don't bother to bother. He's not on that one. Jacquet is, but other than "curiosity value", that's not enough. It's The Swing Machine at it's most machine-iest, pretty numbing, the longer it plays, the number it gets. If you get pissed of at things like that (and I can) this one will piss you off. I found it in a cutout bin when I was first getting into jazz, within the first year or two, and got excited because of Jacquet being there, so hope were high, but hopes were soon dashed.

Still, if you have a collector's curiosity, it's worth a buck of two for that. I got all kinds of shit like that, and will no doubt get a lot more as time goes by. But really....

What is on CD, and what is kind of a sleeper for some folks, maybe, are the two Dot sides that Basie & The Mills Brothers did together...not consistently awesome, but enough good things happen that yeah, you might want to consider that if not yet aware. And yes, Lockjaw IS on those.

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I'll buy damn near any Basie record if Lockjaw's on it. That motherfucker will be Lockjaw no matter what, and not even pretend to give a damn whether you like it or not.

I mean, c'mon Jaws, don't be so mean!

Or hell, let the man play. You know he's going to anyway.

 

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On 7/15/2017 at 9:10 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

 

"Call Me" doesn't really work as a swing tune, though.  It is better as a bossa or pseudo-bossa. 

It works best as a middle aged manic-depressive's booty call:

That's not any kind of seduction, that's a dude looking for pussy. Soon. If not now.

Sorry to be so blunt, but....that's what it is.

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11 hours ago, JSngry said:

Yeah, I get that. But for me, the song works best when the coyness is removed from the delivery of the lyrics. To me, that's a deeper feel than anything a band can put underneath.

I know what you mean.  When Chris Montez sings the song, he almost sounds desperate, like he's sitting at home hoping she'll call.  Sinatra is letter her know that, yeah, he's available, but he has other options. 

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