A Joyous Christmas

Here's another Christmas LP for 2015. This is an amateur production by the Immaculate Conception Church (no location specified), with pieces by their "Folk Group" and their "Adult Choir." The recording is good, and the performances are good for non-professionals. "Drummer Boy" [sic] comes off best – I especially like the guitar intro. The lead vocalist on Silent Night ("C. Rafferty") is quite good.

This was a thrift shop find (99¢), in good but not great shape. I presume it is not on CD.

"Recorded live at Immaculate Conception Church."
"Disc Mastering and Production By Paul Gerry at The Cutting Edge, Ferndale, NY 12734"

Drummer Boy (Folk Group)

Silent Night

O Holy Night (Adult Choir)

Technics SL-7, Sonus SPM-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box S, harman/kardon CDR-2.

Maxine Feldman: Closet Sale (1979)

Galaxia GAL 003

This is Maxine Feldman's only record. It was a thrift shop find (99¢), in good shape. It is not on CD.

"Maxine Feldman sang "Angry Atthis" during the Stonewall Riot in 1969. It subsequently became one of the most widely known/sung lesbian solidarity songs of the seventies." – www.hogelandshoeve.nl/33%20outloud/data/loudf.htm

From the back cover: "Maxine Feldman has been an out-front lesbian feminist for over ten years, singing with pride what others were only whispering."


Article about Maxine Feldman
Closet Sale on discogs
 

Johnny Paycheck: Loving You Beats All I've Ever Seen (1975)

Epic KE 33354

This was a thrift shop find (99¢), in excellent condition. It's a great sounding recording. It is not on CD.

From the jacket: 
"Produced by Billy Sherrill
Engineering: Lou Bradley"

This sample track has been digitized and posted on Youtube:

Cor de Groot: Chopin Les 24 Préludes

Fontana 200.070 WGL

My knowledge of classical music is limited, but I enjoy listening to different interpretations of Chopin's piano works. Cor de Groot is a well-regarded pianist, yet his recording of Chopin's préludes is not on CD. I don't know who makes these decisions or how they are decided, but it seems anyone with an interest in classical music would have to have a turntable to hear the majority of classical recordings.

This record was a thrift shop find (99¢), in very good condition.

Technics SL-7, Sonus SPM-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box S, harman/kardon CDR-2.  

Chopin Prelude #11, Op. 28, in B major

Chopin Prelude #23, Op. 28, in F major

Deborah Minkin, Willard Cobb: John Dowland: Lute Songs and Lute Solos (1973)

MHS 1548 

I joined the Musical Heritage Society in 1982, in response to an ad like the one below. MHS tried to capitalize on the success of Kramer vs. Kramer by promoting an LP of the Vivaldi Mandolin Concerto recording that was featured in the film.  I wasn't very knowledgeable about classical music, but I did enjoy that LP. I always grab any MHS LP that comes up at the thrift shop if the music isn't too obscure.

I don't find LPs of lute music very often, so I always buy them when I do. This LP has a few pops but is otherwise in good shape. It is not on CD.

Technics SL-7, Sonus SPM-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box S, harman/kardon CDR-2. 

Lachrimae Antiquae Pavan

Flow My Teares
 

John Williams, Maria Farandouri: Theodorakis ‎– Songs Of Freedom (1974)

Columbia M 32686

I am constantly surprised by what records are not on CD. Freddy Fender's Before the Next Teardrop Falls had two #1 hits on the US country charts, the title track and "Wasted Days and Wasted Nights," yet it was not on CD until 2012, and even then, one has to search eBay for the two-fer CD from Australia's Raven Records. Raven also released a CD of Jerry Jeff Walker, an early Not on CD find. If the Australians are able to turn a profit re-releasing American music, why can't American record companies?

John Williams is (I'm presuming) one of the most popular classical guitarists of all time, yet this LP of songs and solo guitar is not on CD. Go figure.

This was a thrift shop find (99¢), in good shape, though crackly. Apply your favorite de-clicker, if that's how that works.

I Pandermi

Xamos Apo Agapi

Technics SL-7, Sonus SPM-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box S, harman/kardon CDR-2.

Art Farmer with Joe Henderson: Yama (1979)

CTI 9000

This was a thrift shop find (99¢), in excellent condition. It is not on CD.

The track "Young and Fine" has been digitized and posted on Youtube, and I've embedded it below as a sample track.

Dan J. Smith (1968)

Real Records R102 

This was a thrift shop find (99¢), in excellent condition, still in the shrink wrap. It is not on CD.

Dan J. Smith recorded two more LPs as "Reverend Dan Smith" that are available on CD. The track "I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say" has been digitized and posted on Youtube, and I've embedded it below as the sample track.

Earl Grant: Fly Me to the Moon (1963)

Decca DL-74454

This was a thrift shop find (99¢). The cover is in good shape, but the LP is worn, and it gets noisier closer to the label. I tried to chose quieter tracks for the sample tracks.

I don't love the organ in this context, but the band as a whole sounds good. According to wikipedia, Earl Grant had a top ten hit in 1958 with "The End," and this LP charted at #139, on what chart it doesn't specify. This LP is not on CD.

Associated equipment: Technics SL-7, Sonus SPM-4, Pro-Ject Phono Box S, harman/kardon CDR 2.

Fly Me to the Moon

Stella by Starlight