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!