Andy Williams: To You Sweetheart, Aloha

Let's Go Back to Hawai‘i!!!

Of course, we here at The Tuna Melt prefer to refer to them as The Sandwich Islands, but we love going there whatever you call 'em.

And this time we're going with Andy Williams, so it should be a perfectly smooth trip. Andy released this one in 1960, while he was signed to Cadence records, and it's filled with Hapa Haole gems.

Classic, baby!

Andy Williams: To You Sweetheart, Aloha

1. To You Sweetheart, Aloha
2. Blue Hawaii
3. I'll Weave a Lei of Stars for You
4. Sweet Leilani
5. The Moon of Mankoora
6. The Hawaiian Wedding Song
7. Song of the Islands
8. A Song of Old Hawaii
9. Love Song of Kalua
10. Beyond the Reef
11. Ka-Lu-A
12. Aloha Oe

Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra: The New Ebb Tide

Hey! Look what washed up at Tuna Melt!

Frank Chacksfield's biggest hits were "Ebb Tide" and "(Terry's Theme from) Limelight," both released in 1953. In 1960 he rerecorded "Ebb Tide" in stereo and surrounded it with 10 other songs about water for a collection entitled "The New Ebb Tide" in Decca's London Phase 4 Stereo series.

Not much else to say about this one, so, here it is!

Frank Chacksfield & His Orchestra: The New Ebb Tide

1. Ebb Tide
2. How Deep Is the Ocean
3. Deep River
4. Stranger on the Shore
5. Moonlight on the Ganges
6. Sea Mist
7. Shenandoah
8. La Mer
9. Moon River
10. Sleepy Lagoon
11. Victory at Sea: Song of the High Seas / Submarines in a Calm Sea

Jack W. Hester Presents: The Rapture (A Narrative Drama of the Second Coming of Christ)

Tuna Melt Gonna Scare You to Jesus, for Christ's Sake!!!

I've been horribly frightened by three different experiences involving mass media in my lifetime.

One of those took place on September 11, 2001, was immediately reported on both Television and Radio, and should require no explanation.

Another instance, this one centered around a Motion Picture, occurred upon my attendance at the local showing of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" in 1978. I had been a bit too young to see "Night of the Living Dead" when it came out but, since Romero waited an entire decade to produce the sequel, I was at just the correct demographic age (probably 16 or so) to experience the Second of the Best Zombie Movies Ever Made.

If you haven't seen the movie, I'll let you know only that most of it takes place in a Shopping Mall.

So... Guess where I was working at the time?!? Yep!!! A Shopping Mall!!!

Walking around in the hallways and tunnels that ran behind the stores became incredibly spooky all of a sudden.

Scared of Zombies!?! Yep! You can bet I was!

A Zombie could be Anybody, for Pete's Sake!!!

Your Mama Could Be a ZOMBIE!!!

Or your GIRLFRIEND, or your BEST FRIEND, or your GRANDMOTHER!!!

Or THAT WEIRD GUY AT THE CONVENIENCE STORE!!!

Are You Ready for the Onslaught? Find Out Now!!!
97%

The other event that involved Mass Media and scared the livin' crap out of me occurred when This Record came out.

For one thing... It was Played on the Morning Radio Show in my hometown!!!

Yep... The fellow who used to host the television show on which all us little children were lined up on bleachers to meet Mister Monty and Mister Doohickey also worked on the local Radio Station (back in the days when The Newspaper, The Television Station and The Radio Station in One City could all be owned by one company - an idea which is currently being rallied for by those corporations that fought to have it made illegal about 20 years ago). Hearing Mr. Monty play this record on the radio (along with disclaimers to make sure he didn't crank up another "War of the Worlds" scenario) was enough to convince me that should be taken seriously. On top of that... They played it for us kids (the boys, at least) at the church that my family was attending at the time.

One result was that I was afraid to go to the Bathroom (Just to Pee, for Pete's Sake) at the Church for YEARS after being forced to absorb this crap! I was TERRIFIED that JESUS CHRIST would WALK IN BEFORE I GOT MY PANTS ZIPPED!!! I eventually got over it and figured out that Unreasonable Fear is, well... Unreasonable.

For those of you unfamiliar with "The Rapture" (in Christian eschatology), it is the name given to the future event in which Jesus Christ will descend from Heaven, accompanied by the spirits of all of the saints of God who have already passed on, after which the bodily remains of these saints are transported from the earth to meet the Lord and be rejoined with their corresponding spirits in the air. Immediately following this, all Christians alive on the earth are simultaneously transported to meet the Lord and those who have preceded them in the air. It's The Second Coming of Christ, in other words.

You can get the idea that this could be frightening to the rest of those left wandering around on Earth, wondering what the heck just took place.

Please allow me to point out that, according to this account, the vast majority of us will be enjoying Grand Funk on our radio sets at the time of Christ's return (which suits me just fine). And references made, on this album, to "The Jetport" are the result of my hometown actually referring to it's local airport as "The Jetport" until the mid-90s.

I've divided this record into three parts:

Part 1 is the Introduction - interesting to a degree, but rather ignorable in my opinion.

Part 2 is the HORRIFIC REALITY of THE RAPTURE as Reported on RADIO!!!

Part 3 is a couple of guys reading stuff from the Bible and Preaching.

Jack W. Hester Presents: The Rapture (A Narrative Drama of the Second Coming of Christ)

1. Introduction
2. The HORRIFIC REALITY of THE RAPTURE as Reported on RADIO
3. A Couple of Guys Reading Stuff from the Bible and Preaching

Horslips: Happy to Meet… Sorry to Part

The Jig Is Up at Tuna Melt!

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, too!

Horslips was, if not THE, one of The Original Celtic Rock bands, coming together in Dublin in 1970. They originally got together as a fake band for a Harp Lager commercial and, since they had gone to the trouble of recruiting a keyboard player for the ad, decided they might as well make a go of it, taking the name "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." They later modified the name, via a spoonerism, into "The Four Poxmen on The Horslypse" which was eventually shortened to Horslypse and, then, Horslips.

"Happy to Meet… Sorry to Part" was their first full length album, recorded and released in1972. It consists mostly of traditional Irish melodies and was the fastest selling album in Ireland for 8 years.

Horslips: Happy to Meet… Sorry to Part

1. Happy to Meet
2. Hall of Mirrors
3. The Clergy's Lamentation
4. An Bratach Bán
5. The Shamrock Shore
6. Flower Among Them All
7. Bim Istigh Agōl
8. Furniture
9. Ace and Deuce
10. Dance to Yer Daddy
11. High Reel
12. Scalloway Ripoff
13. The Musical Priest
14. Sorry to Part

Rusty Warren: Knockers UP! & Bounces Back

Grab Yourself a Handful!

Rusty Warren made 14 "naughty" Party Records starting in the late 50s and continuing into the 70s. Amazingly, seven of them achieved Gold Record status despite their being deemed "too dirty" for airplay on commercial radio.

She has since joked that her songs could serve as nursery rhymes these days, due to our "relaxed" standards of decency, but back then this was groundbreaking stuff! And not just because its risqué. At the time, almost no one spoke this openly about sex and relationships in public, but for a woman to do it was particularly unheard of. And the fact that Rusty is a woman also gives her humor a different spin from the other Party Records of the time, which were recorded primarily by men and were decidedly more raunchy.

Rusty brought sexual humor to a mainstream audience made up of both genders. More importantly, though, is the fact that Rusty spoke of women as sexual creatures with feelings, desires and the ability to use their own minds. As much as these records might seem to be at odds with what has since come to define "feminism," Rusty introduced her audiences to strong women who knew what they wanted and how to get it.

NOTE: These albums are available, from Rusty's own website, on CD!
The links below lead to the page from which they (and other items) can be purchased.

Rusty Warren: Knockers UP!

1. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
2. In the Family Way
3. Frankie and Johnny
4. Knockers UP!
5. You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You

Rusty Warren: Bounces Back

1. Rusty’s Back in Town
2. A Very Sensitive Subject
3. Say Thank You
4. When a Woman Wants It
5. It Ain’t Kirk Douglas
6. Big Knockers
7. Little Knockers
8. Ode to Gertrude and Agnes
9. Meet the Audience
10. In a Car it Doesn’t Count
11. Naked
12. Freedom
13. Bounce Your Boobies
14. Make Someone Happy

The Anita Kerr Singers: Reflect (on the Hits of Burt Bacharach & Hal David)

What's it All About, Anita?

The Anita Kerr Singers (and The Anita Kerr Quartet) were originally based in Nashville and were heavily involved in the creation of the "Countrypolitan" Nashville Sound. Any ideas that they were limited to working in Country Music, however, need to be tossed out immediately. Kerr, herself, was a multi-talented arranger, conductor and producer of a huge number of records of a wide range of styles.

She had moved to Hollywood by the time she recorded this album, in 1969, and was primarily involved in arranging and recording Orchestral Pop material. Combined with the amazing songwriting talents of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, her production on this record is nothing less than astounding.

Get her whole story at: http://www.anitakerr.com/

The Anita Kerr Singers: Reflect (on the Hits of Burt Bacharach & Hal David)

1. What's New Pussycat?
2. Alfie
3. Are You There (With Another Girl)
4. In Between the Heartaches
5. The Windows of the World
6. Do You Know the Way to San Jose
7. Don't Make Me Over
8. Walk On By
9. Whoever You Are, I Love You
10. I Say a Little Prayer
11. The Look of Love
12. A House is Not a Home
13. What the World Needs Now is Love

Sounds Galactic: An Astromusical Odyssey

Re-Upped and Re-Mastered! An Astromusical Odyssey.

This one was up for a relatively short time on the old site and it's a Really Awesome record, so I figured I'd better post it again.

This record is a Space Age Pop Monster. The back of the cover contains the only clue to it's actual contents in that it sports a line that says "Arrangements JOHN KEATING".

I find it rather hard to believe that Arranging was the only thing John Keating did on this record, though, as it is easily comparable to Keating's "Space Experience" records. It's possible that someone else conducted the orchestra, but it certainly has the John Keating Sound (including a fair amount of synthesizer work).

If you didn't get it before, you now have another opportunity. DO NOT LET THIS ONE PASS YOU BY!

Sounds Galactic: An Astromusical Odyssey

1. Theme from '2001'
2. Spinning Wheel
3. Aquarius
4. Nocturne
5. Across the Universe
6. Up, Up and Away
7. Good Morning Starshine
8. Telstar
9. Clair De Lune
10. Round Trip Mars