Guilty pleasures? A new version of an old question...Dark Side...


Yes, many classics in classical and Jazz.  Most of my collection would get a thumbs up from the esoteric among us.  Including those "special" pressings and limited editions (limited to how many they could sell?)   But what about the "Dark  Side"?

Come on,  most of have "those" albums and CDs.  I do not have any Lawrence Welk or Mitch Miller, but I do have some Anne Murray, Del Shannon and DC5....if those qualify for "the Dark Side".   I must try to remember if I had or still have other very Dark Side "software".   Do any of you have any Connie Francis, 101 Strings or any that came from Readers Digest?



whatjd
The Ray Conniff Singers. And it's a twofer! "It Must Be Him" & "Honey".
Andy Williams. "Emperer of Easy".
Not to be maudlin, but part of remembering many of the greats of the 60s and British Invasion is that generation (my generation) is starting to die off.

I am getting old and my 3 best friends have all died....two of cancer. It is a normal part of living, but those three "buddies" were the ones that shared much of my music joy...in live performances and in the high-end audio hobby. My best friend, Chris, liked to buy my high end products when I was moving on to something else....which was great as when I visited Chris it was a "trip down memory lane" in more ways than one. He also enjoyed the best of Bordeaux with me, in our heyday we both had wonderful wine cellars to go along with the great audio systems and music (he also was a fan of classic Jazz and female vocals).

"I'm in pieces -bits and pieces..." My Father rousted us out of bed and drove us to the Chicago loop to meet the DC5 (they were staying at the hotel, The Executive House-North Loop, where he worked). Memories...
Yes, have quite a bit of easy listening titles that were issued on the London Phase 4 label. Nothing wrong with it. 
The Dave Clark Five. The Beatles, The Stones, and they were the first and biggest of the British Invasion groups (we didn't call them bands back then. Bands were what backed singers, groups were self-contained musical ensembles. That had changed by the late-60's, what with The Band, The Allman Brothers Band, etc.). 
I have a "The Masked Marauders" album. Does this count?
I've heard of the "MC5" but the "DC5"? Who is this?

I know Del Shannon isn’t held in high regard amongst Rockers, but Tom Petty liked him enough to produce his 1982 album Drop Down And Get Me. As for The DC5, they rocked much harder than did The Beatles. I have and love four of their albums.

Another act not getting the respect they deserve are ABBA. Bjorn & Benny are fantastic songwriters and producers, and they made superb Pop music, almost the equal of Brian Wilson. Speaking of Brian: Dave Alvin admitted a few years back that he never "got" The Beach Boys until recently. Took him long enough! Paul McCartney still considers Pet Sounds the best Pop album ever made, and "God Only Knows" the best song ever written. I agree with him about the latter.

Many of us have Ed Sullivan to thank for some of the strangest mix of "acts, entertainment, singing, dancing, comedy" ever broadcast. Xavier Cugat was a person Ed brought to us along with Topo Gigio...what an experience every Sunday night was!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topo_Gigio
How about Mae West with Somebody's Chyldren-"Way out West"
Several Esquivel! albums.....Zip,bop, schoop,boing!!!!

Esquivel! albums are perfect for audio geek speaker testing. They were recorded during the "golden years" of RCA Living Stereo.

Any Xavier Cugat fans? I like Martin Denny albums for the chicks on the album covers.
edcyn.....not sure if some of those are guilty pleasures or simply proof of guilt? 


I'd run out of fingers and toes. 101 Strings Play the Blues. 101 Strings play the Warsaw Concerto. The Hanky Panky single by Tommy James and the Shondells. A Soupy Sales RCA single that features "Hippy's Cha-Cha Hips" and "White Fang You're a Mean Dog." A passel of 1970's ELP style Classic Rock LPs done in Italian by various Italian bands. A couple of Punk Rock LPs in French and Italian.  The Sukiyaki single by Kyu Sakamoto.  I enjoy both the A and B sides.