Battening Down The Hatches

Sorry there haven't been too many posts this month. I've been extremely busy with a lot of things and this weekend finds us in waiting for Hurricane Irene. If we get hit the way people are expecting us to, I may be out of power for a while. So what better day to post than the day before we get hit. Today I share with you an album that has been in my collection for as long as I can remember. It's sort of a concept album. It's Jeannie C. Riley's "Harper Valley PTA". The song was a huge hit for Riley and spawned a ton of sound a likes and copy cat records but it was this album that took the idea to a whole new level. Not all of the tracks deal with the characters from the original song but most of them do. The underlying theme being that people in glass houses should not throw stones. And as with all concept albums and soundtracks and shows, the main theme shows up a lot. And to date, this complete album has not seen the light of the digital age. A compilation of hits with the same title and cover art has been released but not this particular album. Here is that album that I have had the pleasure of listening to for the past 40 years. Here is "Harper Valley PTA". Enjoy!

Jeannie C Riley-Harper Valley P.T.A.

The King Takes Over Stax

In July of 1973, Elvis and his entourage entered the famed Stax Studios in his hometown of Memphis and proceeded to record. However, it would take a while to get the recording done. It all started on a Monday night. The first thing Elvis requested was that nothing happen until the end of Monday Night Football, a Monday night tradition he shared with the Memphis Mafia. When it was discovered that there were no televisions big enough for everyone to view it on, someone was sent out to buy the biggest tv they could find to watch the game on. When the "viewing party" was over, that's when the guys entered the studio only to be paused again when Elvis declared that the lights were too bright and needed to be changed to softer, colored bulbs. When that was done, the band and Elvis realized that the colored bulbs made it too dark to read the charts so the original bulbs were replaced. Then, and only then, did the recording session convene. An interesting fact about the recordings done at Stax: while the songs were recorded at the Stax studio, the actual recording equipment was the RCA Mobile Recording unit which was in a truck parked in the parking lot of the studio. Among the great tracks recorded at Stax are "Talking About The Good Times" and the classic version of Chuck Berry's "Promised Land". Here are a bunch of out takes from those sessions. Here is "Good Times In The Promised Land". Enjoy!

Elvis Presley- Good Times In The Promised Land

The Grandson Continues The Tradition

Shelton Hank WIlliams is known to most country fans as Hank III. The grandson of the legendary Hank Williams, Hank III is the rightful heir to the throne of king of country music. Of course, Nashville won't admit it and neither will the country music community. In typical "outlaw" fashion, Hank III has been overlooked by the powerful country music scene because he's very vocal about how pop country isn't really country and that Nashville has become too "pretty and perfect". He signed to country music label, Curb Records, as an answer to a court order that stated he wasn't a "real musician" and therefore couldn't supply child support to a child bore from a one night stand. He continued to fight with the label who wanted him to release the standard pop country that has become the norm. He refused and spent many years in court fighting his own label. During that time he started his own "F*** Curb" campaign which included t-shirts and stickers along with shouts from his band of the slogan while performing. He eventually won the right to release the music he wanted to. His last Curb record, which was released earlier this year, charted at #4 on the country music charts. Apparently, he's winning his fight. Hank spends most of his time on the road playing to packed clubs across the country. His show consists of three different sets; the country set of "outlaw country" featuring his respects to all those that came before him including his Grandfather; the "Hellbilly" set which puts a more harder, psychobilly edge on the music; and the "Assjack" set. A straight hard core death metal set. I prefer the first set above the other two but all three are done well and believe it or not, I actually enjoy it all. I was never a hard core metal fan but for some reason, I really like it when Hank III does it. See what you think when you take a listen to a show from February 27, 2004. Here's "Hank III Live at Ground Zero". Enjoy!

Hank III Live At Ground Zero 2/27/04

ELVIS MONTH 2010: The King Finds His Alternate Roots

After the massive success of Aloha From Hawaii, the Elvis bandwagon was once again rolling full tilt. Eager to make sure that the King stayed in the public eye, RCA released "Raised On Rock/For Ol' Times Sake". It was comprised of songs recorded at the Stax Studios in Memphis in July of 1973. Though the album boasted an intense picture of Elvis rocking out in concert, the album failed to live up to it's misleading name. It was a different album than what people had anticipated. There are a few rockers in the mix but most of them end up being a kind of funk/soul/easy listening mash up. It still managed to sell over a million copies worldwide. Over the years, many people have thought what it would have been like if the album had a little bit more of an edge. As more and more session tapes emerged from various sources, that wonder has turned into "alternate versions" of what that album could have been. Today I present one of those alternate versions for you. Here is "Raised On Rock: The Alternate Album". Enjoy!

Elvis Presley- Raised On Rock: The Alternate Album

Pray For The Killer

I just heard that Jerry Lee Lewis is at home resting from a severe case of the shingles. He cancelled his European tour dates and he is on strict bed rest. The doctors say that if he rests he will be fine. I'm not a pessimist but I am hoping and praying that the doctors are right. After all, he is the last of the great Sun recording artists. Let's all say a prayer for the Killer while listening to this classic release from Jerry Lee entitled , "The Killer Rocks On". Enjoy!

Jerry Lee Lewis-"The Killer" Rocks On

Carrie Sings Country

Most folks don t know that Sissy Spacek's first foray into showbiz was as a singer; back in 1969 she recorded a single under the name Rainbow damning John Lennon for his racy Two Virgins album cover in the song, "John, You Went Too Far This Time". I believe I included it in one of my podcasts. It was treated as a novelty tune and it didn't too much other than be released. It wasn't until 14 years later, as she sang her way through the country music catalogue of Loretta Lynn that Miss Spacek would release a more solid recording. On the heels of her Oscar winning role as the Coal Miner s Daughter, Sissy released a full-fledged country album. Not only did this album spawn a hit single with "Lonely but Only for You", but it was produced by Rodney Crowell with guest artists Rosanne Cash and Vince Gill! Extremely impressive for a celebrity recording. Here is that album made by Sissy Spacek back in 1980. Here is "Hanging Up My Heart". Enjoy!

Sissy Spacek-Hanging Up My Heart

Sly-Malion

The story of Pygmalion has been told and retold so many times that it's hard to keep track. The adaptations range from classic comedy (The Three Stooges in Hoi Polloi) to brilliant stage musicals (My Fair Lady). The strangest and, in some people's opinions, the worst adaptation of Pygmalion is the 1984 film, "Rhinestone". This time around, the part of Henry Higgins falls into the able hands of Dolly Parton as a country music superstar. Her "experiment" is the one and only Sylvester Stallone portraying the part of an obnoxious New York City cab driver. The spin is that she can turn Sly into a country music sensation. Why they ever green-lit this project in the first place is beyond me! What's even worse is that Stallone turned down the starring roles in both "Romancing The Stone" and "Beverly Hills Cop" to do "Rhinestone". The one saving grace for this film is the soundtrack. It gave Dolly two more top ten singles and it also gives us not one, not two but four duets with her and Stallone as well as a classic Stallone solo track! Those are worth the price of admission in my book. After listening to this, I guarantee that you will never pass judgement on Sly's brother, Frank, again. In fact, after listening to this soundtrack, you may think that Frank Stallone should get a lifetime achievement Grammy! Here is the soundtrack to "Rhinestone". Enjoy!

Rhinestone OST

The 25 Posts of Christmas: Christmas With Ernest Tubb

I love Ernest Tubb. He is a legend! Everything he sang sounded amazing. He could have sang anything and made it sound great. Which is why his Christmas album is pure awesomeness at it's best. Tubb not only cranks out the classics such as White Christmas, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer and Blue Christmas but he also rearranges one of his classic hits into a Christmas song with "I'll Be Walking The Floor This Christmas". Here's the mighty Ernest Tubb with his classic 1964 Decca release, "Blue Christmas". Enjoy!

Ernest Tubb-Blue Christmas

The 25 Posts of Christmas: Holiday Ballads and Sleigh Ride Songs

Another classic album from "the pile" of records that my dad brought up every year is the Marty Robbins Christmas Album. The cover of this album is what I remember the most. It had a profile of Marty superimposed over a night shot of a city from the air. I don't know why but I always found the cover to be fascinating. I look at it today and wonder what the heck it has to do with Christmas at all. The opening song on the album is "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and to me, this is the ultimate version of this song. See if you think that as well as you take a listen to "Christmas With Marty Robbins". Enjoy!

Christmas With Marty Robbins

Tricks & Treats 09: Halloween Corn

Those of you who have been fans of the blog for many a year know that I am a member of the band, Creamed Corn. For internet junkies in the know, we had a huge hit with a Christmas album we put out about 11 years ago. Last year saw the remaster of that album being released to an overwhelming response! While the Christmas stuff has become the most famous of our albums, we also released a Halloween album the same year we released the Christmas album. It was our first release and we went hog wild with it! First of all, we called it "Satan Loves You". Next, we spent many a night in our studio recording all different sound effects and "sound scapes" that feature everything from chains being dropped into a bucket to all of us chewing gum directly into a microphone. We took a huge mix of material from songs written specifically for the album to songs that had been in our live act from the start. One of the tracks, "Drunken Stupor", goes down in history for being the reason we were asked to never play a club in Madison, CT again! The recording on the album is from that night! Anyway, here it is for you now. Direct from 1998, Creamed Corn and "Satan Loves You". Enjoy!

Creamed Corn-Satan Loves You

More From The Original "Girl Next Door"

Back in January, I posted Barbi Benton's debut album, "Barbi Doll". It was well received but in the past week, it somehow managed to become the second most popular download in the World of Wonder with a whopping 19,000 downloads! It was a complete surprise to me and I made sure to quadruple check both the figures and my eye sight! Alas, it has become extremely popular. As a result, we here at The World of Wonder, since we are committed to giving the people what they want, have decided to post her second album. If you remember the post in January, I had stated that she had a top five hit on the country charts in 1975 with "Brass Buckles". Well, this is the album that features that hit song. It's interesting to note that her first album was called "Barbi Doll" and this one is self titled. Most people would have done it the other way. Once again, this album is on the Playboy label and upon listening to it, you too may ask if the album would ever have gotten made if it weren't for Barbi's "extracurricular activities" at the Playboy Mansion. Though I do find it more listenable than her first. Decide for yourself when you listen to "Barbi Benton". Enjoy!

Barbi Benton

BONUS: For those of you who missed the first album, here it is:
Barbi Benton - Barbi Doll

BONUS BONUS: Here is the original poster that was included in her first album:



PS - Sorry about the lack of posts lately, I have been busy getting ready for a really special feature coming up in the World of Wonder. Stay tuned as this is going to be a big deal. It will all start next week. Stay tuned!!!!!

September of Soundtracks: A Lil' Ole Bitty Pissant Country Place

Since we're on a roll with Burt Reynolds' soundtracks, I thought why not post the soundtrack from the film version of "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". For all intense purposes, the film is horrible. It just did not transcend well to the screen. At least not the way they made it back in 1982. In addition to Burt as the sheriff, there's the great Dolly Parton as Miss Mona and Dom Deluise as Melvin P. Thorpe. The soundtrack boasts the same songs as in the stage version with the addition of two new original songs by Dolly: "Sneakin' Around" and "I Will Always Love You". Dolly's original version of I Will Always Love You blows away that god awful remake by Whitney Houston. Anyway, as bad as the film is, how can you go wrong with the soundtrack? Especially with Burt Reynolds singing! You be the judge when you listen to "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas". Enjoy!

The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas OST

Singles Collection:Celebrity Edition - Episode 2

Smokey & The Bandit is a classic movie that helped make Jerry Reed's "East Bound & Down" become a classic American anthem. The sequel tried hard to duplicate the original's success but it just couldn't hold up. One of the weirdest parts of the film has the Bandit hawking a new single he's recorded entitled, "Let's Do Something Cheap & Superficial". You never get to hear it in the movie but it did make the soundtrack as well as a release on a single of it's own. Here it is in all of it's Burt Reynolds glory. Enjoy!

Burt Reynolds - Let's Do Something Cheap & Superficial