Music Power! 1974 [Canadian Edition]

22 Original Hits, 22 Original Stars

Remember K-Tel records? I do believe this was my first K-Tel album purchase, waaaay back in '74. I don't think I played it all that often, compared to the other K-Tels I owned.

Many of the tracks are remastered and as usual, normalization (does not decode/re-encode original file whatsoever) ergo eliminated brickwalled audio output. Enjoy!

Note: Love Unlimited Orchestra's "Love Theme" is the album version, not the single. It's a half-minute longer. The longer the better.

Awesome Downtime 18: Summers

And awesome it is. Soulwanderer's "Laughter" is a big, BIG fav. Blue Wednesday's "Birds Eye View," Future Loop Foundation's "Live at the Apollo," møndberg's "You Sparkled Like Silver," and Vanilla's "Remember" are a few others. AND, this mix includes one of my ultimate favorite songs of all time: Lemon Jelly's "Closer." It's usually in my top 5. Some days it's number one. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 6: Cool Breeze! 1960-1966

More rare popcorn tracks. Well, I don't know how rare but I've never heard them on the radio before. My big fav is Pat Clayton's "I Said No." I love it when she growls her voice. Other favs include Baby Washington's "Run My Heart," Big Maybelle's "Cold Cold Heart," and Debbie Dovale's "I'm My Own Doctor." They're all good. Enjoy!

Note: While listening to the tracks, I noticed Jericho Brown's "Bluebird" may not be considered popcorn. I still kept it in, and placed as the last track.

Awesome Downtime 17: Fresh Air

A couple of big, big favs in Future Loop Foundation's "A Very English Summer" and Bachelors of Science's "Can't Let Go." Others include Softy's "Fallen Leaves" and Ashra's "Oasis." A lot of good stuff. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 5: Turn on the Moonlight! [1960-67]

Another super installment of Popcorn. When naming comps, I often tend to use track titles or variations. I couldn't pass up on Ray Smith's "Turn on the Moonlight." What a great title. Lots of goodies amongst the twenty tracks. Favs? Eartha Kitt's "A Lady Loves," The Sherwood's "Monkey See, Monkey Do," and Teddy Randazzo's "Cherie." That's just three. They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 4: Candy & Gum, Yum Yum! 1960-66

Out of the 20 tracks, I'd say 15 of 'em are rare as rocking horse poop. Big favs in Johnny Lytle's "The Loop" and Alder Ray's unreleased track, "I Don't Need but One Man." Wes Dakus' "Sour Biscuits" and Bobby Rydell's "Sway" are a couple of more goodies. They're all good. Enjoy!

Awesome Downtime 16: Moça Formos

Another excellent mix (aren't they all?). About the first track, DJ Yves' "Sailing (Michael Scott ext. mix)" - it's not the Chris Cross dude, although I've seen it tagged on various sites. I know amateur (& pro) remixers alter the vocals and such, but I did track down a possible name of the singer. But, it's the internet, so I didn't bother noting it and just kept the track tagged to the mixer (DJ Yves). On the original remix, the tune begins with the percussion. For this mix, I added the original tune's orchestra intro, the stretches, The Office quips, repeats, flanging, and all other effects (all of 26 seconds), then segued into the original remix. And, it's still a big fav.

Blue Wednesday's "Don't Let Go" is a big, BIG fav, along with Stuffed Tomato's "The Stone Skipper." Also, The Player Piano's "Sudden Left" and In Love with a Ghost's "Happy When You're Not Here" a couple more favs. Jack McDuff's soul-jazzed "Middle Class Folk Song" is another biggie. They're all good. Enjoy!

Awesome Downtime 15: 'Tis the Christmas Season

It's a Downtime Christmas Special! I absolutely love this mix. What are my favorites? The biggest standouts are Vic's remix of "Winter Wonderland," nPc's lo-fi remix of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and Monte La Rue's "I Saw Santa Kissing Mommy (A Time for Lovin')." The bass riff/runs in the latter are similar or possibly sampled from the replay background music in Pilotwings 64, the video game. Regardless, I absolutely, positively LOVE IT! Enough of the chit-chat... Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 3: Um Um Um!1959-67

Continuing on... the well known tracks. 20 tracks in all. Too many favs to list but if I had to name three, hmmm, Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law," Dion's "Ruby Baby," and Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop." They're all good. Enjoy!

Awesome Downtime 14: Wish

What's going on here... more downtime!?! Why not! Big favs in Lemon Jelly's "Nice Weather for Ducks," Weathertunes' "The Sunny Side of Life," and Fila Brazillia's "XII." Also Breezewax's "Mother's Earth" and Nightmares on Wax's "You Wish." They're all good. Enjoy!

Popcorn Mania 2: Cha Cha Cha! 1958-65

I worked on this comp shortly after the first one. As like the previous mix, this one should all be rare aka to the best of my knowledge. The Dooley Sisters, Danny Valentino, The McGuire Sisters, Titus Turner, Susan Rafey, Joanne Engel, Lenny Welch, Johnny & The Hurricanes, and many others. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Note: Track 4 Baby Washington's "Hey Lonely" is sometimes listed as "Hey Lonely One." I prefer this order (precedence) when establishing track, artist, and album titles: back cover>front cover>spine>label

Popcorn Mania 1: Gonzo 1959-69!

As requested, popcorn music. For this first comp, I went with rare tracks. Marilyn Brown's "Walk on the Wild Side" would probably be my fav. 20 tracks in all by artists Evie Sands, Dean Barlow, Azie Mortimer, Jay Abbott, Barry Darvell, Les Baxter, James Booker, Kenny Lynch, and more. Enjoy!

Halloween Haunts 7: Home Is Where the Ghost Is

20 More Spooky Tracks! This will probably be the last Halloween comp for this year. I like this comp. I kept it more straightforward and not as eclectic as the others. All tracks from 1955 to '66. My favorites? Hmm, Charles Sheffield's "It's Your Voodoo Working" would be one. Frank Comstock's "On the Dark Side of the Moon" would be another. And Bobby 'Boris' Pickett's "Graveyard Shift" would round out my top three. Enjoy, and have a Happy Halloween!

Note: Track #18 is often credited to the writer (Milton DeLugg)

Halloween Haunts 6: Nope! Ain't Goin' There

A big fav in this 20-track mix is Smokey Jam's "Lady Vampire." Plenty of unsung gems in this collection including Ronnie Cook & The Gaylads' "The Goo Goo Muck," The Pastel Six's "The Strange Ghost," The Charts' "Ooba-Gooba," The Diamonds' "Batman, Wolfman, Frankenstein or Dracula" and Count Lorry and The Biters' "Frankenstein Stomp" to name a few  Enjoy!

Halloween Monster Mix 2021

2 files: #1 all-in-one complete file mix, and #2 the separate tracks mix (keep in mind #2 does not include the various sound effects). Lots and lots of goodies with many oldies, and a few tracks from spooky films and tv. Favs include Vic Mizzy's "The Haunted Organ," The Toyes' "Monster Hash," Gil Mellé's theme from Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Kay Starr's "Headless Horseman," Baker Street Philharmonic's "The Witch" and many more. Enjoy!

Note: Shouldn't the year on the cover be 2022? Yes and no. It's an old mix that I've revised a couple of times, finalized in 2021. For 2022, I set the tracks as one complete mix ala DJ mode.

Halloween Haunts 5: Nocturnal Fright!

More spookiness, mostly 60s. Christopher Lee's "Vampires" is probably a fan-made track. Zager & Evans' "In the Year 2525" - I recall reading a comment some time ago explaining as a young lad, the lyrics freaked him out big time and haunted him for years. The Kords' "Boris the Spider" is a good cover. Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, Johnny & The Hurricanes, George Jackson, Groovie Goolies, Cab Calloway, and others. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Note: About the last track; horror films take liberties with genial tracks and turn them (intentionally or unintentionally) unpleasant for some listeners (ie Tiptoes Thru the Tulips, Jeepers Creepers, etc) by association. I thought maybe "The Laughing Policeman," an innocent, jovial ditty, could possibly achieve the same effect. Try to keep that in mind while listening.

Halloween Haunts 4: Monster Madness!

And another one yet for all you Halloween lovers. There's a few rare film score/tracks included, notably Amedeo Tommasi's "Titoli finali" - it's a bit freaky. As for my fav, probably Gene "Bowlegs" Miller's "Frankenstein Walk." 20 tracks including Kay Bell and The Spacemen's "Scream Along with the Monster," The Invasion's "The Invasion Is Coming," Peggy Lee's "Bewitched" and  Gary 'Spider' Webb's "The Cave (Part I)." Enjoy them all!

Halloween Haunts 3: Kooky Spooky!

I like this one better than the previous two. And the cover art too! Anyway, several rare tunes including A Pair of Kings' "The Monster," The Creeps' "The Whip," and The Poindexter Bros.' "The Booga Man." 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!

Halloween Haunts 2: I Scream U Scream!

More Halloween tunes for all you good freaks 😁 Lots of rare (or maybe not so rare) tracks including Putney Dandridge's "The Skeleton in the Closet," The Bootmen's "Black Widow," The Run-A-Ways' "Night Creature," Sonny Day's "Creature from Outer Space" and The London Studio Group's "Sinister Stranger" to name just a few. Enjoy!

Halloween Haunts 1: It's Creepy Out Here!

It's that time of year once again. With this spooky compilation, I'm familiar with a few tracks while the rest are as rare as rocking horse poop. Favs? Electro-Tones' "Ghost Train" for one. A couple more in Carole Bennett's "Haunted Lover" and George Morgan's "Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost." Enjoy!