What are you listening to? May 2025

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Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris (1963)

Dexter Gordon - Our Man in Paris - album cover
 
Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians - A Night At The Roosevelt (1954)

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Vinyl Spin of the Day.

There's no clinking of champagne glasses or jingling of room keys passing under the table, so despite the inference this is not a live album. But a dozen prime Decca sides by Mr. New Year's Eve is still cause for celebration. Guy included two medleys to better replicate the hotel show experience. There's even a rare vocal by Guy's sister Rose Marie, who joins brothers Carmen, Victor and Lebert along with brother-in-law Kenny Gardner under the familial baton.

In its prime, the Roosevelt with over 1,000 rooms, lots of amenities and a prime Midtown location was among the top Manhattan hotels. Guy held down the prestigious Roosevelt Grill gig for an astonishing 32 years between 1929 and 1961.

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Connie Smith - Greatest Hits On Monument (1977-79, 1983, Sony comp. 1993)

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Following four years of tepid results at Columbia, Connie moved on to Monument. Unfortunately, the quality of her recordings continued to decline. Only one single hit the top 20, a full-throated cover of The Bee Gee's "I Just Want To Be Your Everything" that is still a guilty pleasure for me. It was a part of the "disco country" trend, a desperate effort to ride the wave of the 70's. Even stalwarts like Bill Anderson and Johnny Paycheck tried the leisure suit route, so we can't be too hard on Connie. But she must not have been thrilled with the results since she has recently blocked the re-release of her Monument material on her latest Bear Family box.

Smith would stay away from the studio for more than four years, returning in February 1983 to cut a final single for Monument that failed to chart at all despite being a considerable improvement. After that she wandered in the artistic wilderness for several years, a period we will explore next time.

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The past meets the present, Connie and Ernest Tubb in June 1979. What surprises would the future hold? :confused:
 
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