A May Treat - A Full Song-Poem Album, Courtesy of Iris Tipton

As I've alluded to, perhaps a bit too often, actually, I've not exactly been providing a song-poem record "a week", more like a song-poem record every ten days. As a bit of an apology for that, and a reward for sticking with me, today I have an entire song-poem album for you. This was produced by Iris Tipton, a prolific song-poet, using 12 song-poems she commissioned from two song-poem factories, and titled, most catchily, "Let's Go Country with Iris Tipton, et al" (or, "Country Style" if you prefer what's on the record label itself), released on her own Iris label. 

 

Iris Tipton wrote the all-time classic song-poems "I Spent My Last Three Dollars On an Irish Sweepstake Ticket, and "In God We Trust", both of them high up on my list of favorite records (song-poem or otherwise) and the latter of which was the song with which I kicked off the "song-poem of the week project, way back when. On this album, she co-wrote all the songs on side one with another prolific song-poet, John W. Stephenson (who also had his own label, Cowtown).

 

Sorry about the crappy sound in advance - it doesn't appear to be my turntable/needle, as I tried a few times on two of them to get it to play better. I think it's just the pressing, but if I can get it to play better, I will replace the files. 

As I have done before with full albums, I have not separated out the tracks, but rather, have side one and side two for you dining and dancing pleasure. The performers on side one are the rarely documented Johnny Gatlin (who I'm guessing, from the sound of him, was working with the Globe song-poem factory) and the quite well known Cara Stewart (with, of course, the Lee Hudson sound). One may discern a sameness about the melodies of some of the Johnny Gatlin songs. I don't know about you, but it is with great relief and great enjoyment that the final song, featuring the incomparable voice of Cara Stewart, breaks the tedium, even if "physique" is hardly a song that belongs in a sultry love song. The credits listed for the six short songs (the whole side is 13 minutes long) can be viewed from the label, below the links.

Download: Various Artists - Iris Tipton's Let's Go Country", Side One
Play:

Side two continues with Cara Stewart, happily heard on four of the six, slightly longer tunes (this is a 16 minute side), and joined for the first two, by the previously unknown Gary Williams, who clearly was also from the Lee Hudson song-poem outfit. The subject matter and lyrics to "I Selected Your Picture" make that one a standout. Even with that, I can't help but smile, again, when Cara returns, although her first song on side two, "I Want To Lock You Up Inside My Heart", has some of the most insipid lyrics I've ever heard.

Download: Various Artists - Iris Tipton's Let's Go Country", Side Two
Play:

Here's that back cover:

And here's the address on that back cover, 4709 Beethoven Street in Los Angeles