The Tablet of Cebes: With Illustrations Adapted From Hans Holbein The Younger

The Happenings, the '60s vocal group known for their updated, four-part harmony arrangements of pop standards, scored a series of hits, starting in the summer of 1966 with their Top Ten revival of the Tempos' 1959 Top 40 hit "See You in September." The Happenings recorded for fellow vocal group the Tokens' label, B.T. Puppy Records. In the summer of 1968, after they had placed eight singles in the Hot 100, B.T. Puppy issued the 12-track LP Golden Hits!, which collected those eight hits – "See You in September" and the group's other Top Ten, "I Got Rhythm"; the Top 20 hits "Go Away Little Girl" and "My Mammy"; and the chart entries "Goodnight My Love," "Why Do Fools Fall in Love," "Music Music Music," and "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" – as well as three non-charting singles, "Girl on a Swing," "Randy," and "Sealed With a Kiss," and a previously unreleased revival of "Tea for Two."

"Never was there a more complete triumph - never a more thorough and speedy recognition of a great work of art." This was the response of the critic in the London Times to the wildly successful premiere of Felix Mendelssohn's Elias in 1846. Hans-Christoph Rademann began his tenure as Principal Conductor of the RIAS Chamber Choir with this groundbreaking oratorio. After eight productive and successful years, his final concert in July 2015 also featured the work.

Taking his cues from the '70s output of Ry Cooder, there is nothing in the sound of the Dutch-born and raised Hans Theessink that would indicate he learned his craft from albums and not from being raised in the swamps of Mississippi. His dusky baritone, greasy slide licks, and soulful male backup singers (led by Cooder vet Terry Evans who turns in a stunning performance throughout) plant him firmly into the deep South. The gospel feel of the title track, along with its subtle shuffle beat and rousing yet mellifluous supporting vocalists, sounds as natural as if he spent his entire life soaking up the spirits of the bluesmen he obviously adores. When he and the elegant singers harmonize on "Set Me Free," with pedal steel crying and longtime cohort John Sass' tuba counterpointing the bass, you can almost feel the flies buzzing around your head as you sit beside the banks of the mighty Mississippi…