1978 Sears Stereo TV Commercial

In your choice of 8-Track or Cassette.....

Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock (CBS, 1981)

Back in 1981, CBS Records released a 2 LP compilation of what was then some pretty cutting edge music called "Exposed: A Cheap Peek At Today's Provocative New Rock". It featured a few hits from Loverboy, Judas Priest and Adam & The Ants, but mostly selected album cuts from newer artists back then to the CBS house labels (Columbia, Epic and Portrait) as well as labels which CBS distributed (Nemporor, Stiff and Cleveland International.)

It sold on the counter of your favourite record store for a super cheap list price ($2.98, at a time when many rock acts were making double concept albums with more filler than you can shake a meatloaf recipe at for $15.98.)

It was what they called a "loss-leader", meaning if you liked what you heard on this sampler, you COULD be inclined to buy the full length albums from the artists you liked. But this 2 LP set was a nice way to come home from a fun day at the record shop with a little something extra in the bag to round out an evening of stereo fun.

Another act prominently featured on the set was Ellen Foley. Her name may not instantly ring any particular bells. But if you've ever wondered who that chick was who sang with Meatloaf on his hit "Paradise By The Dashboard Light"....

"STOP RIGHT THERE!".....That was Ellen Foley. But that's NOT Ellen Foley you see in the video. That's Karla DeVito lip-synching Ellen Foley's vocals......

You may also know Ellen Foley as Billie Young from the '80s TV sitcom Night Court. But in the early '80s, she took a stab at a solo music career, recording two albums. One of them, The Spirit Of St. Louis was recorded with The Clash as her backing band. She was going out with Mick Jones at the time, a relationship that didn't work out - he wrote "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" about her.

There are other lost power pop/new wave gems here (The Sorrows, Garland Jefferys), some early country/rock crossovers (Rosanne Cash, Steve Forbert) and others completely lost to time and memory.

It was also popular enough to spawn a sequel album later that year....

Strange Audio Gadgets

 

The Devineau Biophone Attachment was a strange and unique gadget that allowed you to play gramophone records on cylinder phonographs......

Combination Tape Recorder/Phonographs

.....or tape recorders that attach to phonographs......

Yma Sumac

Yma Sumac "Voice of The Xtabay" (10" inch LP, 1952) Right here is where "Exotica" music began.....

Before Minnie Riperton and Mariah Carey, Peruvian singer Yma Sumac was considered to have the widest vocal range of any known singer, over FIVE octaves (that's a range going nearly the entire human vocal spectrum, from a gut-deep basso to an ear piercing C-note. The best opera singers can barely accomplish two octaves.)


But WHO was she?

She was reportedly descended from the last Incan emporer, Atahualpa (although no DNA evidence was ever presented, it's a claim supported by the Peruvian government.)

It was also claimed in the 1950s she was nothing more than a housewife from Brooklyn named Amy Camus (and "Yma Sumac" was this name backwards.) However, that rumor has been discredited by several Peruvian and Argentinian records she recorded for Odeon in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The shellac doesn't lie......

Her popularity peaked in the 1950s during the hi-fi craze. Her exotic look, music and voice made her very popular with young hi-fi fans. In fact, before the first formal hi-fi demonstration albums, it was her records that were the bench test of hi-fi enthusiasts.

One of her most famous was Mambo! (10" inch LP, 1955)

 

Here's Side One.....

Yma Sumac died November 1, 2008.


 

Admiral Stereo Demonstration Record, 1958

 

A classic stereo demonstration record from the late 1950s. With that PHANTOM Third Channel! This video sounds good on any decent stereo output. I have my computer patched in the AUX input of my 1983 vintage Sony STR-VX300 stereo receiver and it REALLY sounds good.

The label looks strangely like Decca's multi-color bar label of the early '60s to the early '70s. But it was made by RCA. Hmmm......

The Soundesign Trendsetter 7

I've never been a fan of Soundesign. Especially their super chintzy '80s systems.

However in the '70s, Soundesign, while still an overall lowbrow electronics firm, did have the distinction of daring to be, um, different. And that's where we find this beast..

The Trendsetter 7 (which thankfully didn't set any trends) was a 200 lb disco themed monstrosity with an automatic three speed (33, 45 and 78 RPM) BSR turntable, AM/FM Stereo receiver, cassette and 8-Track tape decks that looked more like a jukebox than a home stereo system.

With the lighting system on in a darkened room, it looked like a real party starter

The amplifier pumped out a reasonable 50 watts per channel (perhaps the most powerful amplifiers Soundesign ever made) and was perfect for your inner Disco Stu.

But it IS a Soundesign product and while light years better than anything they made in the '80s, it did have some major drawbacks. The phono cartridge was ceramic and prone to picking up external vibrations. The tape decks got gummy with heavy use. The radio was actually very good and unusually selective and sensitive on FM. The AM section, while wide-band and very good fidelity wise had pretty crummy distant reception and selectivity, the stronger local AM signals tended to dominate. The cabinet was horrendously cheap, made of particle board and fell apart easily. With both speakers housed the same cabinet underneath, the bass was especially boomy.

Later models of this system were much smaller and had the speakers enclosed behind flashing lights.

 One model also had a overhead light with a small mirrored ball.

These stereos were never big sellers and the ones that were sold were usually destroyed after the disco bust. Finding a complete, intact unit is extremely rare and the few surviving ones that are in good condition sell for quite a bit.

Halloween Hits: Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House - Disneyland Records (1964)

http://www.haunteddimensions.raykeim.com/index361.html

Who could forget this kid classic?

If you grew up in the '60s and '70s (as well as many from the '80s), this record was a part of your childhood. Even if you never owned a copy, you knew all about it's existence because you often had a friend that did.. 

Originally released in 1964, Chilling, Thrilling Sounds Of The Haunted House remains a perennial Halloween holiday classic.

(Kinda like this album, but for Halloween.)

It was re-released in 1973 with an orange jacket and it has been re-released in it's entirety on CD.

Side One of the LP is narrated by the great Laura Olsher, who sadly passed away in June 2012.

Side 1

Side Two has a compilation of classic Disney sound effects. The most famous one is here.

Side 2

Laura Olsher's voice could be heard on many Disneyland story albums........

                              (Let's hear it for the G.E. Wildcat Portable Stereo Phonograph )

.........and even appears as a sample on Ice Cube's 1991 gangsta rap classic "Jackin' For Beats"

Her performance as Mrs. Cratchit in the 1962 Christmas special Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol is another one of her famous roles......

                                  

The Pallophotophone

Historians have uncovered a previously forgotten recording technology pre-dating the very first consumer magnetic recordings by at least 15 years (not counting wire recordings.)

It was called the pallophotophone (I won't even ATTEMPT to pronounce it.), and here is it's story and a recording of Thomas Edison speaking on it - perhaps the only "High Fidelity" recording of Edison (who died in 1931.) 

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=942480