Kathryn Grayson in Grounds for Marriage

Here we go again with one of our obscure soundtrack LPs, once again featuring Kathryn Grayson.

In 1951's Grounds for Marriage, Grayson plays an opera singer, which she reputedly wanted to be in real life. Most all the music on this album is from operas, namely Le Coq d'Or, Carmen and La Bohème. This is all fairly well performed, except for the nasal tenor in "O Soave Fanciulla". But you can hear the arias better performed on many other records, so the package works best as a souvenir of the film.

I haven't seen Grounds for Marriage, but the plot synopsis makes it sound like a contrived farce (so I probably would enjoy it). Van Johnson plays Grayson's ex-husband.

The only non-operatic piece on the program is a Toy Concertino, written by David Raksin for the film. Bronislau Kaper wrote the other soundtrack music, but none of it appears on the LP. The sound is good.

1952 ad (click to enlarge)

Van Kempen Conducts Brahms

Here's another release from American Decca's budget 4000 Series from the early 1950s, which I am presenting here occasionally.

Van Kempen

Much of Decca's classical output at the time originated with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, and this is an example. It is a good set of the Brahms Hungarian Dances led by Paul van Kempen, a talented Dutch conductor, who is not that well known today.

The German company recorded the Berlin Philharmonic in the Jesus-Christus-Kirche for this release, with the sessions taking place in September 1952. The sound is good.

Original DGG cover

Much of van Kempen's career was in Germany, including posts in Aachen and Dresden during the war, and so he was controversial in the Netherlands in the postwar years, with one of his concerts there reputedly disrupted by protests.

Van Kempen died at age 62 in 1955.

Stubby Kaye

If the name "Stubby Kaye" does not sound familiar, you probably are not a fan of old musicals or an American of a certain age who grew up with the television on.

These days, Kaye is best known for his appearances in two classic musicals - as Nicely-Nicely Johnson in Guys and Dolls and as Marryin' Sam in L'il Abner. In both cases, Kaye originated the role on Broadway and carried over his remarkable performances to the films.

Kaye was a comic who started in vaudeville and USO shows, but his strong, pleasing voice and rhythmic sense made him ideal for certain musical comedy parts, and he made the most of "Fugue for Tinhorns" and especially "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" in Guys and Dolls, his big break on Broadway, which came in 1950. "Jubilation T. Cornpone" from L'il Abner is hardly less memorable. All can be found on YouTube.

This present LP is from 1959, and gives Kaye the opportunity to be heard in a different repertoire. Truth be told, he sounds a little under rehearsed, and is much more at home in rhythm songs than in the slower numbers. His pitching is not always true, and Seeco did him no favors by apparently speeding up the whole LP a full step, accentuating any insecurity. (I have adjusted this, and the result is much more pleasing.)

You have to love any album cover and title that are a takes on a theme by Sinatra - in this case, Songs for Young Lovers and Songs for Swingin' Lovers. Quite a few recordings to this day have done this. A perusal of Google Images yielded the following:

Songs For Swinging Larvae (Renaldo and the Loaf)
Songs for Swinging Mothers (one of those parody album covers with no record)
Songs for Swinging Housemothers (a book)
Songs for Swinging Sellers (Peter)
Songs for Swinging Losers (Buddy Greco)
Songs for Swinging Losers (The Losers)
Songs for Swinging Voters
Songs for Swinging Survivors (Mick Softley)
For Swingin' Livers Only (Allan Sherman)
Songs for Swinging Landlords
Songs for Brunette Lovers
Songs for Distingue Lovers (Billie Holiday)
Songs for Rainy Day Lovers (Clare Fischer)
Songs for Latin Lovers (Ray Charles Singers)
Secret Songs for Young Lovers (Andre Previn - Like Young)
Songs for Pizza Lovers (Lou Monte)
Songs for Sinatra Lovers
Songs for Fart Lovers (I don't expect to be transferring this one)

The good arrangements on the Kaye LP are by Bob Mersey. Some of you may recognize him as a Columbia staff arranger (Aretha Franklin) and producer (Barbra Streisand). The sound is good. This record was issued in a stereo version, but I am afraid my copy is mono.

Larry Adler in Vaughan Williams and Benjamin

I just finished watching Genevieve, a marvelous old film from 1953 with score by the harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. So this seems the right time to post a contemporaneous Adler recording that I transferred a while back.

It contains the first recordings of two works that British composers produced for the instrumentalist. Perhaps best known is Ralph Vaughan Williams' Romance, recorded in October 1952 with accompaniment directed by Malcolm Sargent. But equally as enjoyable is Arthur Benjamin's compact Harmonica Concerto, in an August 1953 recording with the London Symphony and Basil Cameron. The Vaughan Williams was originally issued on a single recording, then coupled with the Benjamin for this 10-inch LP.

I have a particular affection for such lowly instruments as the harmonica and the accordion, and the amazing skill and artistry that Adler displays in these works is fascinating to me. No doubt he is helped by close miking, but he makes other performances sound pale.

The sound here is good, although as I recall I needed to adjust the speed up about a half-step. The download includes reviews of the day and of course scans.

Thirteenth Batch of Reups

After doing twelve batches of reups, you would think all I have to offer would be available. But no, and so on we go to the thirteenth edition.

Almost all of these are from the early days here, and so are presented in mp3 only with no guarantees about the sound quality.

As before, the links below take you to the original posts, which feature my thoughts on the recordings, the covers, and the weather, as well as a new link. A complete set of the new links can be found in the comments to this particular post.

Mat Mathews

Here is one that I said I couldn't find; that is, until I realized it was filed under the name New York Jazz Quartet! LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Jean Francaix

Neoclassical works by the French composer, with Francaix himself in the Concertino. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Diana Lynn - Piano Moods

The first of two post of recordings by the actor-pianist. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Diana Lynn - Piano Portraits

More from this delightful artist. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Manhattan Moods by Gould

One of the many easy listening records from the underrated composer. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Johnson Family Singers

Gospel favorites from the popular singing family. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Myra Hess

The great pianist in Schumann and a recital program. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

The Red Army Band

Marching Maoists play for you. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Sue Raney Singles

The delightful singer in unreissued singles from the 1950s and 60s. These are in FLAC format. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST

Enesco Plays Schumann

The great composer-violinist in a recording from his last years. I rerecorded the first two movements and did quite a lot of manual editing to remove most vestiges of a pressing fault that marred the original post. Now offered in Apple lossless format. LINK TO ORIGINAL POST