"Hi-Fi Baby" and Three Other Non-Hits

Howdy, folks!

Right here at the start I want to share that a new online friend of mine named Vinnie has gifted me with nearly four dozen vintage song-poems ads. I got a bunch from another person several years ago and shared them on this site, one per post, and it's possible that there is some duplication here, but that's far more work of comparison than I am up for at the moment, so I'm just going to share them over the next few months in the order they were in the file he sent to me. 

Here is the first one: 

Thanks, Vinnie. Here is some information about what else went on at that address in the top ad. Oh, and if anyone wants to try calling that number and letting us know what happens, GO FOR IT!

And now, let's walk on Air. 

Today, it's another Air compilation 45 - an EP in fact, featuring three disparate song-poem stalwarts and one complete mystery (at least to me). 

The EP opens up with what is by far the best song on the record - no surprise there, as it comes from the often-above-average song poem mill run by Lee Hudson, and featuring his frequent male go-to, Jeff Reynolds on "Hi-Fi Baby"

I bought this EP (on eBay) solely because I was almost sure that Jeff Reynolds singing for Lee Hudson on a song called "Hi-Fi Baby" would be worth hearing. I was not disappointed. While the lyrics want to be about dancing to rock and roll, it's more of a swing record, with Hudson's typical small band arrangement, fantastic and thick backing harmonies - of the sort I swoon for - and a verse sung in what seems to be triple-tracked unison. I wouldn't be surprised if that section was inspired by Jim Lowe's "The Green Door", which in my book is one of the 100 greatest tracks ever recorded. Come to think of it, perhaps the whole record owes something to "The Green Door". This one's a keeper. 

Download: Jeff Reynolds With Orch - Hi-Fi Baby

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Are you ready now to go about as far in the other direction as possible, with a bit of mystery thrown in, too? Well, let me introduce you to "My Valentine" by Leo Lebow. The mystery here is that I have absolutely NO idea what song-poem outfit put this monstrosity together, or who "Leo Lebow" might be. I guess it sounds a little like Halmark, if their backing tracks had high fidelity sound. But they didn't, and this sounds like a live track, although Leo's vocal sounds grafted on to me. The whole construction reminds me of something that Star-Crest or Noval would have done if they actually had had money. 

I suppose that there are people who like this sort of musical setting and this type of singing, and for them, I would guess they'd say Leo Lebow does an adequate job (unlike the singers on Star-Crest and Noval). But good God, I hate this sort of music. 

But anyway, if anyone reading this has an insight into what company produced this track, please offer up thoughts. 

Download: Leo Lebow With Orch - My Valentine

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The flip side is all Globe all the time. Kris Arden is up first with "Suddenly I Knew". It's got an appealing, loping beat, and a sweet, engaging vocal. But oh, those lyrics. Not only is the title phrase uttered more times than ALL of the other lines of lyric combined, those other lines hit their peak with the writer's admission.... not that she'd pledge her life to the person she just met, but that she'd GIVE HER LIFE for this person. 

I actually get much of the lyric here. As a young, young man, I once spent two hours with someone and found my world turned upside down. I'll give the lyricist that. But has any person ever had the experience of meeting another person for the first time and immediately being ready to die for him or her? I'm guessing not. 

Download: Kris Arden with Orch - Suddenly I Knew

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And that leaves us with the King of the World.... er, the king of Globe, Sammy Marshall, technically  billed Sonny Marshall for this rendition of "Just Before Day. 

As far as the musical setting, this is one of Globe's early Twist-like records, at which Sammy/Sonny excelled, and enjoyable from that perspective, but again, the lyrics let us all down. Essentially, the lyrics describe, blow-by-blow, a lovingly teasing bit of conversation that the song-poet had with his lady. Not only is the story not very long (even at 104 seconds, half the story is repeated twice), but it seems to be meant as humorous. And the biggest problem for me is, it's just not humorous. Plus, the lyricist rhymed "five" with "five". Penalize, penalize - that rhyme is null and void. 

But the sound of the track is nice. If it in a language I didn't understand, I'd probably like it quite a bit more. 

Download: Sonny Marshall With Orch - Just Before Day

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