SAY, JACK!!!

 First up, a Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating today!

Next, an update on my next round of rehabilitated posts. This week's focus was on November of 2011, and the posts in question featured a Sammy Marshall special, some sociological observations from Gene Marshall, another typically bouncy and lyrically interesting offering from Tin Pan Alley, a weird song from the Noval company, and, also from Noval, one of my half-dozen favorite song-poems ever, "Rock, Rocking All the Time". 

Finally, before today's feature, I want to thank everyone who continues to visit the site, and especially those who comment, and want to particularly single out JW. who has offered up about a dozen comments recently, to posts old and new. Keep those comments coming!!!

And now, let's get back to the countdown!

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I have tended to share records from the Film-Tone label sparingly here, first because I don't have that many, but more importantly, because most of those I do have are God-awful, usually without much in the way of car-crash worthiness to make them interesting. 

Well, they all have a sort of discombobulating out-of-time feel, and often feature their standard "Vocal Trio" singing songs that aren't meant for a mixed vocal group, but aside from that, they're mostly pretty samey. 

So I was delighted when I heard the ridiculous and wonderful first song on this Film-Tone EP (and all of their releases were EP's, as far as I know), "Say Jack", which is thoroughly worth hearing and sharing. The band at Film-Tone only had a couple of stock styles, and here they've chosen a sort of upbeat rock-a-ballad backing. But the pleasure here is in the lyrics, all about some missing money. 

The lyrics tell quite a story, in its on style. The best thing about those lyrics, however, is the way the song-poet endeavored to fit in as many rhymes as possible, of words ending with "ack" - I think he even outdid Billy Joel's similarly rhymed "Movin' Out". 

I like to imagine that the members of Film-Tone's  mixed trio were overjoyed to have something this offbeat to sing. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - Say Jack

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I would love to say the remaining tracks hold my interest to even a fraction of the same degree as "Say Jack", but that would not be accurate. The next track, "I'm Locking My Door On You", is the quintessential Film-Tone number - someone with a heartache submitted lyrics, which were set to a minimalist background in an ancient sounding arrangement, primarily led by piano and a guitarist who thinks he's playing a solo, behind that same Vocal Trio, as well as the obligatory sax solo. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I'm Locking My Door On You

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Most of what I just wrote could also apply to "I'll Walk Again With You", although in this case, the author is bemoaning the conflict between lovers, and looking forward to reuniting, rather than being fed up for good. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I'll Walk Again With You

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And finally, "I Cannot Marry You Now", which demonstrates the odd choice that the folks at Film-Tone" regularly made: to ALWAYS use the mixed trio even when the lyrics would seem to demand otherwise. In this case, we have a heartfelt lyric from a man about to enter the armed forces, explaining why this will delay his union with the one he loves. 

Appropriately, the two men sing the first verse together, but then, for much of the rest of the song, the woman of the group not only sings the very male-centric lyric, but takes the melody line whenever she sings. I just find that a very weird choice - there is no reason for her to be on this song. 

On the other hand, this song was written by a woman, but the nature of the lyric is such that she clearly meant it to be sung from a man's perspective, at least in that era, when only men trained for battle. 

Download: Film-Tone Productions - I Cannot Marry You Now

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Please note that someone - perhaps one of the song-poets - submitted this record to radio station WDKN in Dickson, Tennessee, as seen by the stamp on the b-side label. I'm sure the program director pushed one or more of these tracks into heavy rotation, immediately.