From the Deep River Boys' 1940's "Swinging at the Séance" to the Gig Experiment's 2019's "Shark Attack." Both tracks are favs in this mix. Roky Erickson and The Aliens' "Bumble Bee Zombie" is probably my top favorite in the mix. The Three Suns' "The Creep," Bob and Jerry's "Ghost Satellite," René Hall Orchestra's "Night Fright" and St. Paul & The Broken Bones' "Champagne Halloween" are a few more. 20 in all. Enjoy!
Ahh, my favorite Halloween mix of the year. Don't expect the usual classics or anything remotely familiar. 18 tracks of experimental rock, horror rock & punk, rockabilly, and straight up hard rock (and no worries, there's nothing too harsh). The first track (Spectrex's "There's a Monster Loose") however is a funky, hip-hoppity, danceable ditty that's imo, a good mix opener.
Sematary Spawn's "Exorcism of the Dead" reminds me of a subtle Rob Zombie track, or similar. If you like Green Day, check out DieMonsterDie's "1000 Corpses Walk the Earth." Pop-punk fans should embrace The B Movie Monsters' "Mr. T vs. Dracula." Fans of modern Alice Cooper would probably enjoy Monster Mob's "Cannibal Girls." Fronkonstin's straight-up hard rocker "Scary You" is probably my fav.
The last track, Dracula and His Band The Draculas' "Swamp Thing (reprise)" a take on the classic, "Wild Thing" is a hoot. They're all worth a listen or three. Enjoy!
20 tracks of blood-curdling terror, for your cat maybe. All 50s & 60s sans a couple of 70s (the disco-ish "Soul Dracula" by Hot Blood, and Lewis Lee's "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes"). Baron Daemon & The Vampires' "Ghost Guitars" is a worthy track, mostly instrumental. The Spellbinders' "Casting My Spell" another favorite. Simon T. Stokes' "Cobwebs" and Dave Gardner's "Mad Witch" would be right up there too. And can't forget Bill Carlisle's "Tiny Space Man." They're all good. Enjoy!
If you're a fan, you're going to enjoy. 20 tracks including artists The Centellas, Twangozilla, Thee Space Needles, Surfing Arcanis, Frankie and the Pool Boys, Martin Cilia, The Supersónicos, Plato Zorba, The Terrorsurfs, and more. Enjoy!
Contining with the Halloween Haunts series, all 50s and 60s sans a couple of 70s (The Wicked's "The Spider and the Fly" and The Wonderland Singers and Accompaniment's "Trick or Treat"). 20 tracks in all including Daddy Cleanhead & The Chuck Higgins Band's "Something's Goin' on in My Room," George Hormel's "Mysterioso (ZR-68)," Hans Conried & Alice Pearce's "The Invisible Man," The Weirdos' "E.S.P. Theme for Shock Theatre" and Annette Funicello's "Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy." Enjoy!
It's that time of the month once again, and starting off with one of my favorite series - Halloween Horrors of Modern Surf Rock. 20 tracks in all including Urban Surf Kings' "Thunder Robot," The Frogenstein's "Psycho Rodeo," Black Magic Beach Party's "Zombie World of Wonders," Messer Chups' "Insomnia of the Mummies (Faster Version)" and Surf Aliens' "Tentáculos" to name a few. Enjoy!
20 tracks including The Crickets' (not Buddy's old band) "You're Mine," Miriam Grate and The Dovers' "My Angel," Dimples' "My Sister's Beau," The Five Stars' "We Danced in the Moonlight" and The Four Fellows' "Soldier Boy." Enjoy!
Back to the oldies ('51 to '67). Carlos Casal, Jr.'s "Don't Meet Mr. Frankenstein" from '58; Lord Luther with The Kingsmen's "(I Was A) Teenage Creature" also from '58; The Cherry Slush's "The Wicked Old Witch" from '67; The Fabulous Five's "Janie Made a Monster" from '59 and Boots Walker's "They're Here" from '67 to name just a few. Also, the main title theme to 1966's "Island of Terror," a film that scared the crap out of us back in our youth. 20 chilling tracks. Enjoy!
Once again, Halloween in September here at the Groovy Library. And starting off this year, gems from the noughties/aughts. A mixed bag of experimental rock, indie rock, electronics, a dub or two, etc, and nothing harsh. Jason Beers' "Sasquatch Beatnik Poetry" is hilarious. I laugh at the title alone. 8-Bit Ninja's "Thriller" is a really good goodie. I used to listen to Chiptune a lot many years back (some call it Bitpop, 8-bit, Nintendocore, etc). The Thriller track is obviously that tune, and I love the 8-bit version, especially that funky groove.
Skunky Beaumont's dnb-tinged "Voodoo Train (Crispy)" is great but unfortunately, only a minute long. Mad Scientist Dorn's "I Know a Serial Killer" is another goodie, mind you the r-rated lyrics. The awesome and somewhat cute instrumental "Halloween Crab Dance" by The Swingsberry Clams is another goodie but too short in time duration. Fans of Tom Waits should enjoy Skeletons Out of the Closet's "They're Coming to Get You." The Holophonics do a good ska take on the popular "The Monster Mash." HEX's "Ghosts & Pumpkins" should appease the hip-hop fans.
20 tracks and all goodies. Enjoy!
20 rare rockin' doo-wop tracks from 1953 to 64. Great tracks including The Du Mauriers' "All Night Long" (probably my top fav of the mix), The Cadets' "Do You Wanna Rock" and The Penguins' "Ookey Ook." More goodies in The Quills' "Going to the Moon," The Crescendos' "Ding a Ling," The Magic-Tones' "Good Googa Mooga" and The Cadillacs' "Zoom-Boom-Zing." This mix is soooo good, a number five may just be in the works. Enjoy!
I've mentioned before that I've always loved surf music, but wasn't all that keen for the more modern style. That changed once I heard the Surfaholics' '95 album, Tiki-A-Go-Go and that was that. In this mix, 18 instrumental (maybe a couple of talkin' lines, or shouts, farts, etc) modern surfer rockers, and they're oh so good. The highlight, and a must to be heard, is the 20 minute epic (you read that right - a 20 minute surf track!?!) "Broadcast" by Tsunami Experiment. It doesn't drag, no droning, no filler, it's just good. Real good.
Johnny & The Waves' "Tidal Wave" and Indy Tumbita's "Linda" are big favs. Retrofoguetes' "O Avanço da Robótica" and Frankie and the Pool Boys' "Cat Fight" biggies too. Intóxicos' "Miagui Beach" is another worthy track. They're all good. Enjoy!
Popcorn music/style seems to be so well loved, why not another! 18 tracks (I'd say mostly rare), from '56's - "Sing On, Baby" by Jane Baker, to '68's "I Feel the Pain" by Linda Queen. As usual, all good tracks. I don't have any particular favs but if pressed to mention a few, I'll go with Jimmy Ruffin's "Lucky Lucky Me," Johnny Wyatt's "I Wouldn't Change a Thing About You," Gene McDaniels' "A Tear," and Eileen Rodgers' "Crazy Dream." Enjoy!
A baker's dozen of popcorn comps. Cleo Jons' "Why Don't You Do Right (Get Me Some Money, Too!)" is a goodie. Wanda Jackson's "Whirlpool" is another fav. Johnny Appalachian's "Up in Smoke" is another goodie. I really like Ginny Arnell's "Dumb Head" but I can see the controversy if released today. Apparently, Ginny herself was reluctant about the track, but after hearing the final product, she liked what she heard.
Nella Dodds' "Come See About Me" is another fav with a story. From what I've read/heard, Berry Gordy heard it in the studio and immediately had the Supremes record and release their version before Nella's. I've read inconsistent release dates between the two, but I'm sure the exact info for what went down is out there. 20 tracks in all. Enjoy!
Back in the first volume (here), I mentioned "Zoom" by The Starlighters but didn't have a good quality mp3. The tune has to be one of the heaviest, and rockiest doo-wop track I've ever heard. I eventually found one and forgot all about it until Chi-Town sent me the track. I decided to use his track for this mix. A big thanks!
My biggest fav is a toss-up between "Zoom" and George Zimmerman and The Thrills' "Ain't Got the Money to Pay for This Drink." Other favs include The Genies' "Who's That Knocking," The Isley Brothers' "Everybody's Gonna Rock and Roll" and The Hollyhocks' "You for Me." Also, Dave Collins & The Scrubs' "Bluesy Me" and Grady Chapman and The Suedes' "Don't Blooper." 20 tracks in all. They're all good. Enjoy!
I hope the popcorn fans are still around. I'm not sure how many of the 20 tracks are rare, but the majority are rare to me. Bobby Angelle's "There Goes My Baby" is probably my top fav of the bunch. Johnny Restivo's "Last Night on the Back Porch" would be up there too. And so is Esther Phillips' Beatles take on And I Love Her as "And I Love Him." Obrey Wilson's "In a Woman's Eyes" is also another goodie. All tracks from 1960 to '67. Enjoy!
Continuing on... "Blitzen" (Joe Wilder on trumpet) by Leonard Feather & Ralph Burns is the earliest track (1954). The Modern Jazz Quartet's "England's Carol" is the other earlier track (1960). Aside from a few 80s & 90s tracks, the rest are 00s.
I don't think I could pick one track over them all. Wynton Marsalis' "We Three Kings of Orient Are" would be right up there though, at a mesmerizing 9 minute tour-de-force. Nary a moment of boredom or reaching for the fast-forward button. Gabriel Latchin Trio's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is another to take note. Tia Fuller's "Little Drummer Boy" is another worthy addition to the many covers.
Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Skating (#3, take 7)" is close to the original release, that you may not notice a difference. Mark Shane's X-Mas Allstars' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and Alban Darche's "Hark!" are a couple more excellent tracks. They're all good. Enjoy!
You've probably heard some of the tracks. Favorites include the awesome version of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" by the George Shearing Quintet. If you love Brubeck's "Take Five," you should enjoy it. Cyrus Chestnut's cover of "Linus and Lucy" is another worthy addition. If you love bebop, you'll love Herb Geller's "Sleigh Ride."
Rahsaan Roland Kirk's "We Free Kings" is a well known track amongst the jazz aficionados. If you like stride, then you'll probably enjoy Butch Thompson's "Deck the Halls." Brad Mehldau's "Christmas Time Is Here" is imo, the highlight from the set. I absolutely love his rendition of the Vince Guaraldi/Charlie Brown classic.
One of my all-time favorite Christmas carols is "Silent Night". I prefer the renditions to be more serene and subtly melancholic. Fabrizio Bosso Quartet's "Silent Night" is quite the opposite and it works. It's jazzy, funky, and a worthwhile addition to the mix. Anyway, all the tracks are good. Enjoy!
I'm a fan/sucker for "you've never heard" and similar wordings in comp titles. And here we are with 18 smooth, upbeat, jazzy tracks you've never heard... or may have heard...
All tracks are instrumental sans "Last Christmas" by Till Brönner, but only briefly. Of all the cover versions of Wham's big hit, it's one of the better ones. It toys on a bossa-nova rhythm, and it works. Fourplay's "Angels We Have Heard on High" is probably the best jazz-funkiest rendition I've ever heard. Another big highlight is Dirk K's "Have Yourself a Merry Christmas." Who is Dirk K? I have no idea. Check out those monster guitar licks.
Don't forget to get wow'd by Marco Marzola's "O Christmas Tree." Listen to those drum breaks. Oscar Peterson's "Christmas Waltz" slows things down for a bit, but his piano runs makes up for it and then some. And please note the third track (Don Patterson's "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer") is a needle drop, and not that clean either. It's passable but thought to let you know. I couldn't resist not adding it to the mix. As usual, they're all good. Enjoy!
