Spanky & Our Gang

Pop standards vocalist/actress Julie London was definitely at a transitional phase in her career when she cut Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (1969) - the final entry in her decade-and-a-half long relationship with Liberty Records. Modern listeners will revel in the obvious kitsch factor of a middle-aged, old-school female who is crooning rock & roll. Rightly so, as the two musical universes rarely collided with a lucrative outcome. However, just below the genre-bending veneer lie interesting interpretations of concurrently well-known selections with the occasional sleeper gem thrown in. The lush and admittedly antiquated orchestration doesn't mask London's smoky and smouldering pipes, and some scores definitely work better than others…

If you want to know why producer Gary Usher is revered in some circles, play The Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading next to the pretty much self-produced For Children of All Ages. A name as trendy as the Jefferson Airplane - and a sound that is absolutely the Airplane - meets the Mamas & the Papas; the '60s guitars sound smart; the 1967 liner notes by Lawrence Dietz tell you nothing about the group; and the front cover looks like something Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper encountered during Easy Rider. "It's a Happening Thing," like much of this record, tries too hard. Decades after it was recorded, there is charm in a band like the PBC (which rhymes with PCP) being such an authentic figment of someone's countercultural imagination. Sandi Robison is stunning on "Then Came Love," and the production by Gary Usher really is impressive - it makes the record something special…

Your Daily Gift opens with an original pop/rocker, "Sunday Morning," which displays Anisette's little granny voice to great effect. This is not the hit song by Spanky & Our Gang, nor does Anisette sound anything like Spanky, but the two bands would have complemented each other nicely on a bill, and had Elaine McFarlane performed "The Waters Run Deep," the first song on side two, it might have been an American hit…

Norma Mendoza with the Jimmy Wisner Trio - All About Norma (1961) {Firebird Japan XQAM-1080 rel 2014}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 147 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 72 Mb
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© 1961, 2014 Firebird Japan | XQAM-1080
Jazz / Pop / Vocal Jazz / Piano

Apart from the liner notes on the back of the cover I have no further information about either the singer or the recording. It seems this was her only album. Trained as a classical pianist, Wisner known admiringly as “The Wiz,” has gone on to become one of the most sought after professionals on the creative side of the music industry. He’s been involved in more than 100 hit records as either producer, arranger, writer or artist with cumulative sales of releases in which he has participated estimated at well over 150 million worldwide.

Time Life presents 'Flower Power: Music Of The Love Generation.' Our 10-CD, 175-track set is full of the artists and songs who defined the Baby Boomer generation - it's a box full of memories that will bring listeners back in time to an unforgettable era.This late–60s and early-'70s pop culture phenomena had many facets, from free love and psychedelia to
anti-war and hippies. This vivid youth movement was reflected in the music… the world listened and has never been the same again.

Time Life presents 'Flower Power: Music Of The Love Generation.' Our 10-CD, 175-track set is full of the artists and songs who defined the Baby Boomer generation - it's a box full of memories that will bring listeners back in time to an unforgettable era.This late–60s and early-'70s pop culture phenomena had many facets, from free love and psychedelia to
anti-war and hippies. This vivid youth movement was reflected in the music… the world listened and has never been the same again.

This collection of 8 discs may be the most comprehensive collection of its type. There are a total of 120 songs from almost as many artists. There are a few artists represented more than once, with The Kingston Trio represented by 9 songs, every one memorable. The era represented by these songs spans about ten years. The earliest songs in this collection date back to the late 1950's. The latest songs date to about 1968.