Mrs. Wiggs of The Cabbage Patch (1934) Norman Taurog, Pauline Lord, W.c. Fields, Zasu Pitts

Middle of the Road is a Scottish pop group who have enjoyed success across Europe and Latin America since the 1970s. Before ABBA established themselves in the mid 70s, Middle of the Road were the sound of early europop with their distinctive harmonies and lead vocals from Sally Carr. Four of their singles sold over one million copies each, and received a gold disc: "Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep". "Sacramento", "Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum" and "Soley Soley". By early 1972 the group had sold over five million records…

Compact disc buyers who purchased Andreas Scholl's disc of Handel arias on Harmonia Mundi barely a month before HEROES was released may wonder why they might need the present recital, with its further helping of Handel. One listen will stop the wondering! The key is the non-Handel portion of the program. That Scholl is excellent in baroque music is well-established by his recordings for Harmonia Mundi. But with selections by Hasse, Gluck, and a young Mozart, he demonstrates his talent for later music as well.

This late-’60s Venezuelan band is another fine discovery from Shadoks, who seem to be unearthing an endless stream of worthy, neglected psychedelic albums. The liner notes leave many questions unanswered, but the story appears to begin with Venezuelan-born American Steve Scott. A bassist and singer, he found two Venezuelan brothers, Mario and Jaime Seijas, and they then completed a foursome with Adib Casta. Inspired by the times, they recorded one album and became quite popular, playing regularly to large crowds. There’s no information, though, about where the strange name came from, or what happened to the group…