Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Ask Mr. Music by Jerry Osborne

FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 17, 2012

DEAR JERRY: For just 50-cents at the Goodwill store I picked up what seems like an unusual LP, possibly from the 1950s.

Credited to Jon Trevanni and His Continental Orchestra, its title is "I'm in the Nude for Love" (Crown 5046).

You would think "I'm in the Mood for Love" would be one of the tracks, but it is not. Seems like they missed an opportunity there for some clever word play.

It contains 12 forgettable instrumentals, but does have an interesting front cover, especially for its time. Pictured is a nude model stretched out in a hammock, strategically positioned so as not to be too revealing.

Any idea who this lady is? Similar to Sophia Loren, but with blonde hair. No mention is made of her anywhere on the cover.

Even so, were there any complaints back then about this cover? Did stores put it in the racks right along with their other inventory?

I recall a similar album, possibly by Joe Houston, with a nude gal on the cover that riled the industry so much it had to be redone.

Thinking that albums with cheesecake covers could be collectible, I figured this one to be worth more than 50-cents.

Did Crown ever have any name acts? Like Jon Trevanni, their other albums are mostly by people I've never heard of.
—Josh Finnegan, Milwaukee



DEAR JOSH: Let's first cover the cover.

The lovely model, while technically nude, reveals nothing more than could be seen on any beach. As you see, she is not credited, though her photographer Ken Whitmore is.

In this Billboard review (Dec. 23, 1957), only brief non-judgmental mention is made about the cover art, but they do comment on the shortcomings of the music:

"Album title is illustrated by provocative photo of a gal in a hammock. Contents establish romantic mood with numbers like "Poinciana," "Reverie," "My Old Flame," and "All Alone." Arrangements attempt polished style but execution is rather crude."

Confusing Joe Houston and Chuck Higgins is understandable. Both H-men are R&B saxophonists and both recorded for Combo in the mid-'50s.

So it is Higgins, not Houston, whose "Pachuko Hop" LP cover (Combo 3000), ruffled more than a few feathers when issued in 1955.

First issues picture a naked model lying on the floor, with only a scarf (more like a necktie) draped over the three triangular points distinctive to the feminine form.

To quell the complaints, mostly from adults of course, Combo went from sexy to saxy, replacing the model with an innocuous shot of Higgins on stage playing his sax.

The average sale price of the original issue is about $500, with those using the second cover going for around $150.

Not all cover models are unknown, especially ones named Jayne Mansfield. Two albums picturing Jayne that are in the $100 range are "Music for Bachelors" (1955: RCA Victor 1046), containing instrumentals by Henri Rene and His Orchestra, and "Jayne Busts Up Las Vegas" (1961: 20th Fox 3049), from her live Vegas show."I'm in the Nude for Love" is a less pricey slice of cheesecake, fetching $30 to $40.

Crown served as a low-priced imprint label for RPM and Modern, and all of their name artists showed up later on Crown LPs.

Jon Trevanni is not the only stranger in the Crown stable. Most of their albums are by folks generally unknown to record buyers. Still, several dozen are by recognizable names whose earlier material was repackaged by Crown. Alphabetically, they are:

Paul Anka; Steve Alaimo; Pearl Bailey; Chet Baker; Jesse Belvin; Brook Benton; Richard Berry; Bobby "Blue" Bland; Dave Brubeck; Cadets; Ray Charles; Dave Clark Five; Nat King Cole; Sonny Criss; Vic Damone; Eddie Dean; Jimmy Dean; Del-Vikings; Ral Donner; Dave Dudley; Eddie Fisher; Pete Fountain; Erroll Garner; Stan Getz; Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs; Roscoe Gordon; Billie Holiday; Chico Hamilton; Coleman Hawkins; Woody Herman; John Lee Hooker; Lightnin' Hopkins; Johnny Horton; Joe Houston; Ink Spots; Isley Brothers; Jacks; Chuck Jackson; Elmore James; Etta James; Sonny James; Jonah Jones; Rusty & Doug Kershaw; B.B. King; King Curtis; Kirby Stone Four; Little Richard; Trini Lopez; Marvin & Johnny; Jimmy McCracklin; Gerry Mulligan; Marvin Rainwater; Johnny Rivers; Tommy Roe; Neil Sedaka; Bud Shank; Ray Smith; Kay Starr; Ray Stevens; Roosevelt Sykes; Teen Queens; Tokens; Ike Turner; Joe Turner; Ritchie Valens; Johnny Guitar Watson; and Jimmy Witherspoon.

In 1958, Crown began a special Christmas series; however, not one of their familiar artists — those named above — appears anywhere in that series.



IZ ZAT SO? From 1957 through 1972, Crown produced approximately 670 albums, most priced at $1.98 for monaural and $2.98 for stereo — a bargain price made possible by making substandard discs and covers.

As indicated by the artists named above, most styles of music were represented. In addition to vocalists, Crown concocted dozens of albums of knockoff show tunes and various artists compilations.


Jerry Osborne answers as many questions as possible through this column. Write Jerry at: Box 255, Port Townsend, WA 98368 E-mail: jpo@olympus.net   Visit his Web site: www.jerryosborne.com

All values quoted in this column are for near-mint condition.

Copyright 2012 Osborne Enterprises- Reprinted By Exclusive Permission

Vinyl Record News & Music Notes


Welcome to the new look! Please let me know how you like it and bear with me while I get it all sorted out!!




Music History for December 19th











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heard from our friend Jeffrey from The Vinyl Institute, man i'd love to get copies of these LPs!

Beatles Please Please Their Fans and Get Back to Vinyl

written by Jeffrey B. Palmer


ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, December 19, 2012….Fifty years since their Cuban-heeled boots first entered a recording studio, The Beatles are making headlines again with the release last month of their original studio stereo re-masters on 180-gram vinyl, to the “Yeah, yeah, yeah” cheers of Beatle fans worldwide. 

All 14 albums, the 12 original United Kingdom releases, the U.S.-based Magical Mystery Tour, and the 2-LP Past Masters that round up the rest of their songs released during their career, are out, complete with the cut-outs in Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and the poster and glossy portraits from The White Album. 

Each record is sold individually, and are available all together now.  A limited edition box set of 50,000 copies with all the albums has been released with a 252-page coffee table book written by record producer Kevin Howlett and filled with career-spanning rare band photographs.

Many customers have opted for the 22-pound box set.  One customer of an Arlington, Virginia, independent music store immediately ordered three as Christmas gifts.

Its bulk is due to the music being pressed on 180 gram vinyl, which is thicker and heavier than most vinyl records weighing 120-140 grams and often uses virgin vinyl with no recycled material. Records of this weight and quality are less prone to noise and warping. 

Remastered vinyl Beatles records have been coming for a long, long time.  Sixteen years after the Fab Four broke up, their music was released on CD in 1986 to mixed reviews.  Remastered CD’s of better sound quality were released in 2009, and seventeen million were sold within seven months, but vinyl-philes were still left wanting.

The vinyl remasters have been in production for three years, with Abbey Road studio engineers working from the 24-bit remastered tapes developed for the 2009 CD releases, but not truncating them to 16-bit masters required for CD production.

When vinyl is pressed, machines carve grooves that represent actual sound waves in an analog format.  Digital music files do not store sound waves but approximate the analog signal by sampling the sound wave periodically. 

Critics of digitized music complain mid-range sounds are compressed and distorted, while higher frequencies are missing.  Conversely, they claim analog music is “warmer,” “more natural,” “more durable,” and simply “cooler.”  

Nielsen Soundscan continues to rank vinyl as the fastest-growing musical format, with 3.9 million new long-playing vinyl albums sold in the United States.   Fall projections are that 4.7 million new vinyl albums will be sold in the U.S. in 2012, a 20% increase over 2011. 

Many a hard days night was spent by Abbey Road engineers to provide the best and richest sound possible on every song.  And comments on Amazon.com indicated their efforts were appreciated, as buyers of the remastered vinyl releases used phrases like “Nothing short of excellent!,” “Delighted,” “Beautifully quiet and clean,” and “Fantastic!”

Not to be upstaged, other rock veterans are jumping onto the vinyl bandwagon.  The Who recently re-released their studio albums in a box set of 180-gram vinyl, The Velvet Underground and Black Sabbath have just issued vinyl box sets of early albums, The Rolling Stones’ latest anthology is available in a 5-lp box, and rock songstresses from Linda Ronstadt to Marianne Faithfull have recently re-released classic albums on vinyl.

But The Beatles will return for an encore on record shelves and on-line.  Monaural mixes of many of their albums sounded different than the stereo releases, and hardcore fans are eagerly awaiting a mono vinyl box set planned for 2013.

The Vinyl Institute represents the leading manufacturers involved in the production of PVC vinyl in the United States, and promotes the value of PVC and vinyl products to society.

For more information, contact:

Jeffrey B. Palmer
Director of Marketing & Communications
The Vinyl Institute
571-970-3327
jpalmer@vinylinfo.org

Also go to:  www.vinylindesign.com , www.vinylnewsservice.net , and www.vinylinfo.org.

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from grimeys.com

GRIMEY'S BEST SELLERS 12/10 - 12/16, 2012

Vinyl Top 25:

1. Vince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale - Buddy & Jim
3. Mumford & Sons - Babel
4. Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls
5. The Lumineers - The Lumineers
6. D'Angelo - Voodoo
7. JEFF The Brotherhood - Castle Storm
8. The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
9. The Avett Brothers - The Carpenter
10. Father John Misty - Fear Fun
11. Paul McCartney - Christmas Kisses 7"
12. The Avett Brothers - Four Thieves Gone
13. The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
14. Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
15. Various - Death Might Be Your Santa Claus
16. The Beatles - Abbey Road
17. Rodriguez - Cold Fact
18. The Beatles - Revolver
19. The Civil Wars - Tracks In The Snow 10"
20. The Black Keys - El Camino
21. Grizzly Bear - Shields
22. The Rolling Stones - Doom & Gloom 10"
23. Can - The Lost Tapes vinyl box
24. Interpol - Turn On The Bright Lights deluxe reissue
25. Tame Impala - Lonerism  

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Rage Against The Machine Picture Disc

The remastered debut from Rage Against The Machine is now available on a limited picture disc.

Order HERE



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cool article from the other side of the world...

Vinyl market still not resurrected in India

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Heavy Metal Gift Guide 2012









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Interesting Kickstarter campaign - An all-analog turntable for today's vinyl listener.






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Depeche Mode to Release New Album













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Yo La Tengo to Sell Hannukah Show Mixes to Benefit Norton Record's Sandy Recovery












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10 Best 2012 New Year’s Eve Concerts for Ringing in 2013








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Forbes 30 Under 30 List Includes Adele, Frank Ocean + Marcus Mumford









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Pitchfork's  Top 100 Tracks of 2012





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Kiss Characters to Star in 2013 Individual Comic Book Issues











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Best of 2012: Billboard Critic's Albums and Songs; Paste Reissues; Soul Tracks Albums