Jackie Gleason presents "Oooo!" (Mono rip)

Friends, do you ever feel like you want to vocalize, but you don't really have anything to say? Well, you could become a politician and you'd probably go far, or you could do the more sensible thing and join Artie Malvin's choir. They're featured here as an integral part of Jackie Gleason's orchestra in tonight's offering, our personal mono rip of the 1957 release "Jackie Gleason presents 'Oooo!'"  As you probably already know, nobody did mood music quite like Jackie Gleason, and this oooo-tiful release is a serious oooo-gasm for the ears.

This collection was released on four 7" EPs as well as 33 1/3 vinyl, as were many albums of this era, and altogether there are 16 tracks. That's a whole lotta OOOO!  This album is out of print, and if it was ever released on CD in its entirety, we can't find any evidence of it. As a bonus, I added two of the tracks with enhanced reverb and dreamy delay, just for a little extra oooomph. You're gonna love it!

Your OOOOgasmic download is here!

The George Shearing Quintet - Night Mist (Mono Rip)

Tonight at the Starlite Lounge we've got a doozy of a combo for you, The George Shearing Quintet...with Voices.  Yes, it's one of those Gleason-esque concoctions where a choir of ooooo-ing voices stands in for a typical string arrangement. This is one of our favorite types of records, and after listening carefully to this one, it's one of our favorite records, period. The voices mostly don't sing any words, and you mostly won't either after you're drawn into these benzocaine environments of tinkling vibes, softly shimmering ivories, and overall vaporous arrangements.

We suggest something blue from the bar...it will probably have some blue curacao in it, and we promise you it will be swanky and surprisingly strong.

As with everything here at the Starlite Lounge, this is our own personal rip. It came from a dollar used record bin, but was surprisingly clean, and after a glue treatment this baby sounds darn near perfect. It's the original 1957 mono release...ooooo, mono. We added just a light touch of filter to take the crackly edge off, but not enough to damage the high end too much. There's a bonus track at the end as well, one of the tracks revisited, this time plastered with dreamlike reverb and delay just for fun. We love to get plastered here at the Starlite.  Enjoy!

Your ultra misty Starlite download is here!

Simon Rady - Voices In Motion (mono rip)

Dream on, Starlite visitors, and experience the dreamy sounds of Simon Rady's "Voices In Motion" long player. It's one of our favorites here, perfect for those more quiet conversations while bellied up to the bar, or while closing up for the night.  Presented here is a brand new rip of the original mono mix, which is a lot nicer to listen to on headphones if you know what I mean. If you prefer the sound of stereo, visit our our previous feature of this record to pick up that rip.

Your Magnificent Mono Experience is here!

Wives And Lovers - Jack Jones

We know it's been a while since he's been at the Lounge, and we know you love him, so you'll be pleased when I tell you Jack Jones is here. Enjoy one of Jack's classic offerings, "Wives And Lovers". You stereophonic lovers will be happy that this is our own stereo rip of this out-of-print gem.

Bottoms up, Jack!

The Paul Horn Quintet - Here's That Rainy Day

Well here's a nice surprise I recently discovered languishing in a dollar bin. I was on a binge, buying dollar records just for the interesting cover, and that's how I came across this beauty. This is about as easy as easy listening gets, and reminds me of Simon Rady's "Voices In Motion".  This one is far more instrumental however, and even though there are "voices" as the title suggests, the voices are mainly going "woooo" and "ahhhhh", occasionally sending out an actual lyric amid the mellow arrangements. Yes, this one is all about the atmosphere. It's also one of the cleanest sounding records I own, despite a number of surface marks, some of them quite nasty looking. I wasn't expecting this to sound so great, and I used no filtering on this rip, leaving in whatever vinyl crackle was still present.

And by the way, what ABOUT that cover? She's just sort of zoning out there, listening to the fire she started using that big bowl of matchbooks on the coffee table. Is that her smartphone lying on the ottoman in front of her? Maybe she's having a bad case of "wait by the phone".

Enjoy, Starlite visitors!

Here's Here's That Rainy Day!

Wonderful! Wonderful! - Lawrence Welk (mono pressing)

Welk-ome back to the Starlite Lounge, dear friends, and get ready for some Easy Listening from the man whose name is synonymous with cornball music the world over, Lawrence Welk! We never miss an episode of the Lawrence Welk Show when it's on TV here at the Lounge, but this little album here is a little bit different than we're used to hearing on the show. This one is all about the strings, baby, and it's way more department store than his usual big band renditions, the ones that are normally bursting with horns and saxes. In fact, in a blind listening test conducted among 100 boozers here at the Lounge, most guessed this was Percy Faith and not La' Welk. But just check out that cover if you don't believe me, displaying all of Larry's disdain for elegantly designed packaging--indeed, it seems as if this record was created for those consumers who like to buy their records, throw the jacket in the garbage can, and stack their naked vinyl in one of those barbaric mid-century-modern wire racks.  Percy Faith would have at least put a beautiful woman on the cover, or a soft-focus image of young lovers wandering through a sunlit landscape. Love him or hate him, there's one thing I'm sure you Starliters can relate to: his relentless promotion of alcoholic culture by marketing his sound as "Champagne music"! We present to you our personal rip of "Wonderful! Wonderful!" in glorious mono, so feel free to get ripped with Larry. -hic-

Your Champagne Experience is here!

One Stormy Night - Mystic Moods Orchestra

Welcome to the Starlite Lounge, come in out of that rain! For all of you who know the joys of a raging thunderstorm, tonight's feature is the 1966 debut album by the Mystic Moods Orchestra. As the title suggests, this is more than just music, it's a combination of instrumental performances and the sound effects of a rainstorm. This concept is something that the Mystic Moods Orchestra made a career of, eventually taking their act on the road and supposedly recording sound effects live on the spot to be mixed with the music.  We can't say for sure, but we're pretty sure these sound effects are simulated at times. Those lightning strikes sound a little bit like cardboard boxes being struck with a broom handle. But no matter, whether it's live or Memorex, we love the Mystic Moods approach to a swank evening. This debut was re-released many times since the original 1966 date, including a memorable edition from 1975 that included a peekaboo die-cut cover revealing the faces of a couple through a window, only to slide the inner sleeve out and reveal the couple fully nude standing in the window. We're not saying it's safe for work, but you can view those images here. Although we're not wild about some of the musical choices here, we do love all that rain. One track, "Local Freight", is nothing more than a train off in the distance. Just don't get carried away with all those rain effects...if you do, we think we should tell you the facilities are down the hall to the right!

Your Mystic Moods experience awaits!

Ebb Tide and Other Instrumental Favorites - Earl Grant (mono pressing)

Never trust a seagull. They're mean-spirited, messy, and unpredictable--just ask Melanie Daniels. But nevertheless, they do look good on an album cover, and this cover for Earl Grant's "Ebb Tide and Other Instrumental Favorites" is one of our favorites, too.  The album ain't too bad, either, and we think you're really gonna be impressed with Earl's organ. Aside from "Ebb Tide", Earl rocks a number of other standards as well, including "Deep Purple", "Misty", and our favorite track on the album "That's All". It's the mono pressing! Stereo still turns us on, don't misunderstand--it's just that unique mono allure is hard to resist. Included as a bonus track is an edit of "Stormy Weather" shorn of its showy intro, just in case you wanna keep things nice and mellow.

Your High Fidelity Mono magic is here!

Harp Skip & Jump (Mono Pressing) - Gene Bianco

Who loves a harp? Obviously all the neato ladies do, because check out these two. Oooooo, that harp is just too hot to touch, but those fluttering hands are all too eager to feel the magic anyway. Maybe you'll understand, too, when you hear Gene Bianco, Mundell Lowe and friends spread the stardust around with this collection, containing both standards by Cole Porter, the Gershwins, and Lerner/Lowe, and also a few offbeat numbers and even an original or two. Don't tell Gene, but what we're really crazy about is that far out vibraphone played by Joe Venuto. Because we know you like mono as much as we do, this is the original mono pressing, baby! One more thing...are these girls technically harpies?

Your New Orthophonic experience is here!

Exotica Today - Martin Denny

How are YOU feeling today? Exotic? Well that's mighty fine by us at the Starlite, because tonight it's another rare one from maestro Martin Denny himself, "Exotica Today". This collection is not one of my favorite albums from Mr. Denny--I could do without his overly horn-y rendition of "Love Me With All Your Heart" (pun definitely intended), and his choice of "Lara's Theme" to cover leaves something to be desired. However, there are plenty of shimmering jewels on this long player to make up for the skippable ones. Denny's "Strangers In The Night" is a keeper for sure, and his supermarket-chic reading of "Promises" had me reeling with reverbbed excitement. You probably already know Martin Denny gave a name to the genre "Exotica", but who knew he was the inventor of the mash-up, too? Check out his unique take on the opening track "The Shadow Of Your Smile", where he wraps the song around the skeleton of his own #2 Billboard hit "Quiet Village".

Tonight's drink: it's no fooling around. You pour a shot or two of Tropical Punch flavored vodka in a large Tiki glass, then fill it with mango-orange juice and ice. Exotically hypnotique! Belly up to the bar, or just relax on the cheap rattan outdoor furniture and listen to this.

Your Tropical Exotic download is here!

Hawaiian Enchantment For Dancing - The George Poole Orchestra

Aloha from your friends at the Starlite Lounge! Thanks to everyone who asked about our hiatus, we're glad you were eager to come back. What a great night to throw open the doors again, when the hot night air makes it fun to cool down with some chilled cocktails. That lilting steel guitar that you hear seems to beckon you to a tropical paradi--oh, enough of the corny references already. The George Poole Orchestra is playing tonight, and while they may not actually be Hawaiian, fauxness is not only accepted in the exotica genre, it's essential. You don't have to really BE Hawaiian, you just have to think you are! Let's raise our tiki mugs to summer, shall we?

Your Stereophonic Enchantment download is here!

Fear not, friends of the Starlite! We're not out of business....the Lounge will soon return with some more swanky pleasures.

Love After Midnight - The Moonlight Strings

Welcome back to the Starlite Lounge, where we love serving up a potent cocktail or two--with the sole intention of putting you in a better frame of mind, of course.  Tonight we encourage you to imbibe this scintillating mixture by The Moonlight Strings, "Love After Midnight".  Call us square, but this has turned out to be an important find since we gave it a spin here at the Lounge.  This is Eames-era elevator music extraordinaire, ladies and gentlemen.  True, gossamer productions like "Lonely Is The Name" are the kind of thing we're in love with. But we admit, we live for the moment in "Spanish Flea" where the lush arrangement suddenly gives way to a burst of swanktastic horns and late 60s party atmosphere.  Even the cover here is something to behold, in all it's shagtastic glory.  And yes, we're talking about the carpet.  The cover star herself seems to have her mind on other things, such as love and some kind of necklace.  Drink up, this is the kind of thing we live for here at the Starlite Lounge!

Your TotalSound® download is here!

The Sound of Leroy Anderson - Stradivari Strings and Ping Pong Percussion

We admit it: sometimes we judge a book by its cover. Or at least, a Spin-O-Rama album cover.  While stocking up for background music at the Lounge, we stumbled across this gem, "The Sound of Leroy Anderson", which boasts not one but two lead artists: The Stradivari Strings and Ping Pong Percussion. The music is a strange combination of...well, percussion and strings.  But we sure do love that cover art best of all, the strange combination of iconic graphics.  Who knew ping pong balls could be colored like salt and pepper?

Your <-----Spin-O-Stereo-----> download is here

Twilight Moods - The Three Suns

Originally the Starlite Lounge was meant to be the Twilight Lounge, until we realized that name is now more closely associated with glittery teenage vampires.  Well, we're reclaiming twilight for the spirited lounge set, and what better to banish a vampire than the sun? Three Suns, as a matter of fact, so don't even try it, Bella's boy.  

Truth be told, tonight's recording is a little scratchy, proving that while vampires can be eternal, vinyl isn't.  We did the best we could with what we had, though, and The Three Suns have harpist Marga Hanson with them to help round out their sound.  It's more Welk than Esquivel, but is this a bad thing?  We don't think so.  Wonder if Marga Hanson was a champagne lady?

Your twilight download is here.

Exotic Love - Martin Denny

Exotica is a word that always gets our attention here at the Starlite Lounge. Les Baxter is a name we should know, but as a wise green puppet once said: "There is another": Martin Denny.  Baxter may have written "Quiet Village", but it was Martin Denny who crafted the genre known as "exotica", which became known for its use of sound stylings and percussion to create simulated frogs, water sounds, and birds.  Tonight's feature at the Lounge, "Exotic Love", came to be in 1968, many years after Denny's initial splash, and there are some weird and wonderful cover versions of songs like "This Guy's In Love With You" and "I Say A Little Prayer".  Just watch the rush on the bar when we get to Denny's rendition of "MacArthur Park".  Exotic bliss!  The bartender has Mai Tais at the ready, so dive on in! Blub blub blub.... (bird call)

Your exotic download experience awaits you here.

Batman - The Bat Boys

Spinning at the Lounge tonight is a favorite curiosity, this strangely anonymous instrumental record "Batman", credited only to The Bat Boys.  We think it's a pseudonym for a band that never was, since there's more than a little pilfering going on here.  Their frantic rendition of the "Batman" theme is what was clearly intended to convince the average record-buyer to part with their dollar, but this ain't Neil Hefti.  The cover is another cleverly designed piece, not quite the Batman logo, so no trademarks have been violated.  I wonder if anybody ever paid attention to the other tracks on the album? With titles like "Cheatin' Charlie" and "The Villain Strikes", could they have been trying to convince us this is an entire "Batman" collection? Trust us, it's not, but their lowbrow title selection is a gas all the same.  Charlie isn't the only one cheatin' here--several of the songs are simply tunes stolen from other songs, such as "Mars Visitor", which is simply a jazzy rearrangement of "Music To Be Murdered By".  We're pretty sure The Bat Boys were thinking of "Think I'm Going Out of My Head" when they penned "Fight Flight", too.  We're not sure though, the bartender has been serving up a shot called the Alien Brain Hemorrhage and we're going out of our heads over it. Glub glub glub....

Your Stereo download begins here

Moving Percussion In Pops - The Hollywood Allstars

Tonight's featured cocktail is a real lively mixture from the Hollywood Allstars.  It's equal parts vibes, assorted exotic percussion, horns, jazzy snares, and snappy tunes, with a pinch of trains, roller coaster chains, and a cuckoo clock thrown in to give it a little kick.  The folks at Dyna Disc really knew how to cut the wax, let us tell you--visually this record was a mess, with tons of scratches and marks on it, and we expected the worst before we dropped the needle on it.  Turns out it didn't sound bad at all, much to our shock and delight.  It didn't require much before the sound was sparkling once again.  Enjoy!

Your Dyna-Download is here

This Thing Called Love - Simon Rady (1962)

Smiles, everyone....smiles.  This is a special night at the Starlite Lounge, because right here in this most swank of nightspots we learned of a followup to our beloved "Voices in Motion".  Well, we had to run right down to our local record store and pick it up, and here it is! Only Simon Rady can create the Voices the way we like them.  On this release, he's billing himself as Sy Rady, but just one listen and you'll realize that Simon by any other name is just the same--fabulous!  Pour yourself some of your favorite spirits and prepare to be elevated into the realm of the Voices.

Your stereo "360 sound" download is here

*we did our best to enhance the audio on these tracks, as some of them were slightly flawed due to damaged vinyl

Where Is Love? - Jack Jones (1969)

If the Lounge seems particularly crowded tonight, it's because this evening we've got the legendary Jack Jones. The very definition of smooth, Mr. Jones has done it all--theater, television, films. But the bedrock of his lengthy career has been his swanky-as-Dewar's pop vocals. Think you've never heard Jack sing before?  Think again: that's him crooning the theme from "Love Boat", and unless you were just recently hatched, we KNOW you've heard that.  We give Mr. Jones the floor tonight, accompanied by Doug Talbert on piano (at least, that's what it says on the jacket).  Drop your light-weight tone arm on this.  Bottoms up!

Your swanktastic evening is here