It's been a lousy week. I don't need to hear no more lectures about The Impermanence. On again, off-again.
Meanwhile, I've had a chance to do some deep listening, and I can tell you, without any doubt, the new Van Morrison album Swings! Really, you would not believe how great this is. Here are links to some of the better reviews I've seen:
discount las vegas show tickets
las vegas show tickets discount
las vegas cheapest show tickets
las vegas show tickets romano
las vegas show tickets tejano
las vegas show tickets o
las vegas show tickets cheap
free las vegas show tickets
cheap show tickets las vegas
cheap tickets to las vegas
barry manilow tickets las vegas
george thorogood las vegas tickets
john edward tickets las vegas
kelly clarkson tickets las vegas
las vegas drag race tickets
las vegas tickets july 10
greater las vegas site tickets
motley crue tickets las vegas
paul mccartney las vegas tickets
las vegas and plane tickets
pussycat dolls las vegas tickets
nascar las vegas tickets 2006
jimmy buffett tickets las vegas
gwen stefani las vegas tickets
rita rudner tickets las vegas
half price las vegas tickets
cheap tickets las vegas o
airplane tickets to las vegas
same day las vegas tickets
same day tickets las vegas
tickets 4 tonight las vegas
2006 nascar las vegas tickets
plane tickets to las vegas
cheap tickets for las vegas
u2 tickets mgm las vegas
free show tickets las vegas
las vegas motor speedway tickets
elton john tickets las vegas
elton john las vegas tickets
celine dion tickets las vegas
las vegas celine dion tickets
celine dion las vegas tickets
tv audience tickets las vegas
flight tickets to las vegas
tickets to las vegas shows
las vegas shows discount tickets
discount tickets las vegas shows
cheap tickets las vegas shows
las vegas entertainment tickets online
las vegas half price tickets
tickets pbr finals las vegas
tickets for las vegas shows
las vegas show tickets danny ganz
last minute tickets in las vegas
lowest airline tickets for las vegas
guys and dolls tickets las vegas
celine dion tickets in las vegas
danny gans las vegas show tickets
half price show tickets las vegas
ron lucas entertainment las vegas tickets
ronn lucas entertainment las vegas tickets
tickets santa barbara to las vegas
tickets little river band las vegas
same day tickets in las vegas
discount tickets mama mia las vegas
discount tickets in las vegas neveda
2 for 1 tickets las vegas
discount tickets for las vegas shows
buy tickets for las vegas shows
cheap tickets to las vegas shows
tickets for shows in las vegas
celine dion las vegas show tickets
las vegas show tickets for o
cheap tickets las vegas and hotels
discount monorail tickets for las vegas
cheap airplane tickets to las vegas
half price tickets in las vegas
one way tickets from las vegas
john edward tickets wanted las vegas
george carlin discount tickets las vegas
free show tickets in las vegas
half price las vegas show tickets
mystere show tickets and las vegas
discount show tickets in las vegas
show tickets 4 tonite las vegas
las vegas and david copperfield tickets
las vegas tickets july 10 discount
arabian nights extravaganza las vegas tickets
tickets for o in las vegas
Posted by: Marewkd | February 18, 2006 at 09:10 AM
By the way, Ev, that's the first time I've ever heard "overheated" applied to Ferrante and Teicher. Reminds me of the old F&T Diner in Kendall Square (also overheated, though by Fox and Tishman).
Posted by: thomas petruso | November 07, 2003 at 12:37 PM
Not that this is AT ALL in the same category as all that schmaltz thusfar mentioned, but what about Santo and Johnny's immortal "Sleep Walk?" Not to mention Los Indios Tabajares with "Marielena". For my money, Sleep Walk is just about the best "grind" song you could ever want - the mere mention brings on the unmistakable whiff of teenage girls in tight pants and cheap perfume, held way too close...A definite candidate for the closing piece at my funeral.
Posted by: thomas petruso | November 06, 2003 at 11:10 PM
Wow--A Dane responsible for that bane of all wedding/bar mitzvah musicians' existence, The Alley Cat. Who knew? I remembered Midnight in Moscow after I posted. Not to mention Calcutta, The Stripper, Baby Elephant Walk, and one I know you know, Tom--Somehwere My Love--because I've heard you and the Morg doing a mouth mandolin version of it. Ah, for the days of tacky instrumentalists on AM radio. Where have they all gone? Guess they're in the great beyond with those Ghost Riders in the Sky...
Ev
Posted by: Ev | November 06, 2003 at 08:55 PM
Pardon my length, but hereøs the low-down on local boy Bent Fabric; if you read far enough, you'll see he was once teamed with Mr. Acker Bilk -- now there's a pair -- all we need is Boots Randolph for the trifecta.
Born Bent Fabricus Bjerre, 7 December 1924, Copenhagen, Denmark
Bent Fabric's simple piano foxtrot number, "Alley Cat," is one of those tunes we all know but hardly anyone recognizes. First hitting the radio and record charts in Denmark in 1961, by the end of 1962, it was a worldwide hit, selling over a million copies, and placing in the Top 40 in Europe, the U.K., Australia, and the United States. Simple enough for even beginning piano students to play, "Alley Cat" sold over 500,000 copies in sheet music within the first two years of its publication.
As is often the case with popular entertainers in smaller countries, Fabric was a multi-talented performer. First exposed to jazz and swing music in his teens, Fabric became an avid fan, and formed his own combo soon after the end of World War Two. This group went on to make some of Denmark's earliest jazz recordings.
Fabric was interested in the recording business, and, in 1950, formed his own company, Metronome. Metronome eventually became Denmark's most successful label, and for many years, Fabric was its primary A&R man. Among his discoveries was fellow Dane, guitarist Jorgen Ingmann, whose version of the instrumental, "Apache," was a #2 hit in the U.S.
Fabric also continued to perform around Europe, both with a combo and as a soloist, and he was approached by Danish television to host a weekly variety series. For several years, Fabric's Saturday night show, "Around a Piano," was one of the most popular in Denmark. Fabric's laid-back jazz cat manner, as he hosted at the piano, dressed in a turtleneck sweater, with a cigarette hanging limply from the corner of his mouth, led some to refer to him as "the Danish Perry Como," although "the Danish Mose Allison" might be closer to the truth.
Fabric wrote many originals (for many years publishing them as "Frank Bjorn"), but somehow "Alley Cat" caught listeners like none of his other tunes. Its heavy play in Denmark soon garnered sales in neighboring countries, and within weeks, "Alley Cat" was being sold throughout Europe. It quickly hopped the Atlantic (there was a lot more openness to European pop in the late 1950s and early 1960s than today) and started catching on with the U.S. audience. As evidence of the utter unreliability of the Grammy Awards, "Alley Cat" went on to win the award for Best Rock and Roll Record of 1962. An easy-to-learn dance step was also invented to go along with it, and it's become a standard for dances--particularly at weddings--ever since. (Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser did the "Alley Cat" on an early episode of "Mad About You.")
Atlantic Records licensed a whole album of Fabric's piano numbers and it became their biggest seller for 1962, helping the Ertegun brothers weather the transition from doo-wop to soul (and who knows, maybe underwriting some Coltrane sessions to boot?). They went on to release a half dozen Fabric albums over the next 4 years, but not one came close to matching the impact of "Alley Cat." Atlantic also teamed Fabric up with their other one-shot European instrumentalist, English clarinetist Acker Bilk, but the Bilk and Fabric were no Nina and Fredrick (Atlantic's other Danish act).
With all cool cat grace, Fabric simply ambled back home, took back the mantle of national entertainer, and continued to perform on television (a new series, "The Blue Hour") and stage. He went on to compose for more ambitious settings than jazz combo, writing a musical and even a ballet based on Denmark's national fable, the Little Mermaid.
Posted by: thomas petruso | November 06, 2003 at 08:48 AM
You don't know Mr. Acker Bilk (he went by Mister)? Next we'll find out you don't know Bent Fabrik! Bilk was the most cornball clarinetist you'd never wanna hear.
Hey Evelyn, you forgot Mignight in Moscow.
Posted by: thomas petruso | November 06, 2003 at 08:44 AM
The year (according to allmusic.com) was 1962. The huge radio hit was an instrumental called "Stranger on the Shore," by "Mr. Acker Bilk" (I could hum it for you, if we were in the same room). It was a pretty but kind of sappy ballad; reminds me of movie music. There were all kinds of strange instrumental radio hits in those days: Ebb Tide, More (Mondo Cane), Love Is Blue, Theme from a Summer Place, Theme from Exodus, Music to Watch Girls By, A Man and a Woman--often by overheated types like Ferrante & Teicher, or movie themes, and I guess I put this one in that category. According to his allmusic bio, though, he was a big hit in England, where he's from. Just hadn't heard his name in 40 years, so it took my by surprise.
Ev
Posted by: Ev | November 05, 2003 at 09:17 PM
Yikes? why do you say that? Frankly, I never heard of the guy before.
Posted by: Michael | November 05, 2003 at 05:09 PM
I'll try to find a way to get a listen to this. But I have one question: ACKER BILK? As in Mr. Acker Bilk? Yikes.
Ev
Posted by: Ev | November 05, 2003 at 04:21 PM