Albums and All That, Starting with the letter S as in Sierra, Part 9

From Something to Shout About (Lulu) to Sophisticated Boom Boom (Dead or Alive)

Oh hey, by the way... there is now a Vinyl-O-Matic Patreon

Lulu with The Luvvers [00:30]
"Chocolate Ice"
Something to Shout About
Decca LK 4719 1965
Hey hey hey! It's Lulu! This is her debut album. Despite what you might guess from her voice, she was 17 when she recorded this album. "Chocolate Ice" is the excellent title song to the very weird Gonks Go Beat (Hartford-Davis, 1964), featuring Lulu and The Luvvers, The Nashville Teens, and the Graham Bond Organisation

Todd Rundgren [02:40]
"Hello It's Me"
Something / Anything?
Bearsville 2BX 2066 1972
Rundgren's 3rd solo album, spreading his musical wings a bit more than previous releases. Todd had originally written the song as a very mellow ballad with the Nazz in 1967, and was released as a b-side to their psyche rocker "Open My Eyes". Usually I'd go with the power pop progenitor "Couldn't I Just Tell You", but well, I'm feeling more mid-tempo at the moment.

Jimmy Buffett [07:29]
"Cheeseburgers in Paradise"
Son of a Son of a Sailor
ABC Records AA-1046 1976
Let me be perfectly clear: I am not now, nor have I ever been a Parrot Head. However, I do love cheeseburgers. This is the lead single from Buffett's eighth solo album. The single made it to #32 on the Hot 100. There's also a much-watered-down version of "Livingston Saturday Night", which can be heard to greater effect on the Rancho Deluxe (Perry, 1975) soundtrack, see also: Season 5, Episode 76.

Harry Nilsson [10:20]
"It Is He Who Will Be King/Daybreak"
Son of Dracula
Rapple Records ABL1-0220 1974
The only new Nilsson song on this soundtrack. The less said about the actual film. Count Downe (Nilsson) is invited to take over Count Dracula's throne by Merlin (Ringo Starr). Lots of monsters and lots of rock stars, including Keith Moon and John Bonham, Peter Frampton, Bobby Keys, Klaus Voorman, and Leon Russell.
Watch at your own peril. Great packaging for the record though, includine a die-cut gatefold and an iron on transfer for the cover image with "Bite Me" written in goth script below.

Julian Bahula's Jazz Africa [16:15]
"Molebatsi"
Son of the Soil
Tsafrika Records TSA 001 1982
A great collective outing composed by this South African by way of Britain drummer/composer/bandleader. I picked this one up at Revolution Records in Amsterdam. If Google Translate isn't lying to me, this title translates to "Smoker" from Swati. And a smoker it is.

The Temptations [21:46]
"Shakey Ground"
A Song for You
Gordy G6-969S1 1975
One of several excellent P-Funk-backed tracks on this album. There's a pretty excellent Delbert McClinton version of this song as well.

The Exbats [25:47]
"Like It Like I Do"
Song Machine
Goner Records GONE 192 2023
And boy do I like it! Another excellent outing from Bisbee AZ denizens Inez and Kenny and friends. They pretty much just keep getting awesomer and awesomer.

Big Black [28:17]
"L Dopa"
Songs About Fucking
Touch and Go T&G LP #24 1987
Scorching. And sadly, fare thee well, Steve. To anyone interested in recording, Steve and Electric Audio provided (and still provide) a wealth of information, as for instance: Everything you've ever wanted to know about tape alignment but were afraid to ask.

THE FOLLOWING TRACK IS INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES. LISTENER DISCRETION IS ADVISED 🤓

Rusty Warren [31:54]
"Songs for Sinners (Part I) (excerpt)"
Songs for Sinners
Jubilee JGM-2024 1959
Everybody's favorite New England Conservatory of Music-trained raunchy great aunt. If you shake the Youtubes, you can quite likely find Catherine O'Hara portraying a Rusty Warren-inspired character Dusty Towne in an episode of SCTV.

Frank Sinatra [33:01]
"Pennies from Heaven"
Songs for Swingin' Lovers!
Capitol Records W653 1956
Frank and Nelson Riddle taking a pass at this classic thirties tune originally recorded by Bing Crosby. I am also reminded of 1978 BBC series Pennies from Heaven performance wtinessed by Bob Hoskins as well as Steve Martin's filmic remake of Pennies from Heaven.

Merle Haggard and the Strangers [35:43]
"Mama Tried"
Songs I'll Always Sing
Capitol Records SABB-11531 1977
Wayward Merle's ode to mama. Fun fact: My grandfather claimed to not care for Merle because he was a jailbird, despite being a fan of Johnny Cash. Granted, Cash never served more than a night in jail following a few of his misadventures.

Stevie Wonder [37:53]
"Sir Duke"
Songs in the Key of Life
Tamla T13-340C2 1976
This album is the common denominator of almost every record collection I've been gifted. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, whenever I hear this song it reminds me of summer Little League practice, so presumably 1977.

Yautja [42:50]
"Tar and Blindness"
Songs of Descent
Forcefield Records FFR039 2014
Heaviness by way of Nashville TN of all places.

Echo & the Bunnymen [45:40]
"Do It Clean"
Songs to Learn & Sing
Sire / Korova 1-25360 1985
A solid mid-80s compilation. This is easily one of my favorite Echo & the Bunnymen tunes.

The Fresh & Onlys [48:26]
"AAA"
Soothsayer
Mexican Summer MEX170-1 2013
Definitely some great atmoshphere on the EP. Love the vibes and horns on this track.

Dead or Alive [52:31]
"That's the Way (I Like It)"
Sophisticated Boom Boom
Epic BFE 39274 1984
A very early-80s take on this 70s classic. Presumably the album is titled after The Shangri-La's single? For you aging goths out there: If Wikipedia, there is an uncredited guitar playing by Wayne Hussey who would the move on to Sisters of Mercy, and then of course to The Mission 🤓

Music behind the DJ: "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by David Whitaker and his Orchestra