There’s a good kon edit of “it’s alright to love me”
Peggy Lee - dock of the bay - a banger
Louis prima - sing sing sing, such a great swing number
Georgie Fame - somebody stole my thunder or peaceful. I love “getaway” too .
Shirley Bassey had a remix of “where do I begin” by the away team, huge break
Jazz juices could be raided? Side winder by woody Herman, upfront brass! Sergio Mendes classics ‘roda” I think you could sneak in an Austin powers vibes and that adds a Latin or even boogaloo vibe?
The 5th dimension? Puppet Man - I love that or their traffic cover feelin alright.
Sammy Davis - live “on a clear day” , that’s just nice,
I would also just play good big band stuff and lean in, Frank “ You make me feel so young” “ I got you under my skin, his alum with Jobim. This stuff sounds delightful.
Dean Martin - kick in the head, relax a vu (great corny French lyrics)
Bobby Darin - I’m beginning to see the light - such a romantic song.
I actually envy our grand parents, dressing up, post war economic bump, the tailoring. Clearly I’m over romanticising but the vibe is one of aspiration and fun
Any idea what the story was there? Record Co getting cold feet post-‘disco sucks’, I’m guessing?
Would have thought there’d be a reasonable amount of interest today, so I wonder why no subsequent ‘Johnny Mathis x Chic - The Lost Tapes’.
The story I read was that his management felt it was the wrong direction to go in (possibly also connected to the whole Disco Sucks period in America, too).
Johnny Mathis - Woman Woman. Good funky version of the Johnny Bristol track. Great drums, turns out it’s Barry White’s drummer Ed Green
Lou Rawls - Trouble Down Here Below. Got a bit of a Northern Soul feel.
Nancy Wilson - Son of a Preacher Man. Super funky - it’s on a par with Dusty’s version for me.
Johnny Mathis - Life Is A Song Worth Singing. Great track!
Della Reese - Who is She And What Is She To You. I like the rather rough feel to this one.
Bobby Darin - Bullfrog
Kathleen Emery - Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child. Sounds a lot like a Portishead production - Geoff Barrow clearly thought so because he did a pretty much note-for-note re-make a few years ago…
Nancy Sinatra - Drummer Man. I noticed that this appeared on some Japanese ‘Easy Glide’ comp alongside lots of other apparently unconnected stuff - which made me realize that I have no clear understanding of what Easy Glide actually is…
Barbra Streisand - Stoney End. Written by Laura Nyro, arranged by Gene Page.
I’m pretty sure that someone like Dimitri Of Paris did a decent re-edit or remix of I Want To Be Evil by Eartha Kitt. Can’t seem to find it online tho, so maybe i dreamed it…?
And of course it’s always interesting to see what the You Tube algorithm/algorhythm throws up when you click on these links…in this instance another tune that might work
The Vegas-sized elephant in this particular thread-shaped room has to be Frank Sinatra. I’ve picked up numerous albums in the hope of finding an aberrant nugget of grooviness, but drew a blank every time. His ‘concept album’ Watertown is excellent, but there’s nothing particularly funky about it. I really like some of the bossa album he cut with Deodato and Jobim (especially Agua De Beber - below). I checked out the ‘future’ section of his Past Present & Future 3xLP, but was disappointed with it. I picked up a copy of the album he did with Quincy Jones (LA Is My Lady, i think?) but recall being underwhelmed by it and let it go. Any thoughts or suggestions…?
My wife and I mostly wear stuff from the 40s and 50s. Super smart, even the casual gear get lots of positive comments when we’re out and about. I’ll routinely be wearing clothes that are about 75 years old and they still look great and really hold their shape. I was recently given a 3 piece suit from 1951 that belonged to a friend’s grandfather - he had been a farmer, not terribly well-off, but could still afford a really super bespoke suit that still looks great over 70 years later. I suspect that very little contemporary fashion will last anywhere near as long.
A lot of interest in vintage clothing is a direct reaction to ‘fast fashion’.
The way this thread is going, it feels like Brother Ray is a necessity. More down & dirty than Vegas glitz, but Basie and the back-up singers class it up.
Barbra Streisand - Grandma’s Hands. Quite a blues-y delivery.
Bobby Darin - Beyond The Sea. Deserves an honorable mention. Not at all funky but, to my ears, it probably is the best version of this classic. The Julio Iglasias version is pretty good too, gets groovy after about 1 minute in - used at the end of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
Peggy Lee - Sneaking Up On You.
Elmer Bernstein - Title Theme From The Silencers. Groovy big-band OST stuff. The film stars Dean Martin, so there’s a Rat Pack connection too.
