Storming the Chapel

To start, a few responses to comments....

First, thanks to everyone who has been reading and listening - I appreciate your eyes and ears on what I'm sharing here more than I can say. And second, thanks to those who have offered up comments, whether occasionally (or once) or many times.

Thanks for the notification of downloads and play-files which have been corrupted somehow. I have fixed the track about One of Satan's Angels, which you can hear here, and one of the fantastic tracks from the Film-Tone label, "Have Faith in Love", which you can hear here. 

I've had a few people ask about the years in which one or more of the records I've shared may have been made. Aside from a few facts gleaned from The American Song-Poem Music Archives' labels page, in most cases, I just don't know. The same goes for those who ask about details on particular records they've found - those inquiries have mostly been about Rodd Keith records. If I have an answer, I'll post it - and if you link your comment to an e-mail address, I'll answer you by e-mail - but in most cases, again, i just don't know. 

And I really enjoy and appreciate the posted comments which go into some detail regarding the songs posted, similar songs, etc. I don't always have much to add, so I don't always respond, but that doesn't mean they aren't appreciated. And I do know I keep promising to repair the old pages. I really do hope to get to that some time in the next few months. It just seems so daunting...

On to this week's post!

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The Chapel Recording Company was part of the same team that brought us the tremendous products of Halmark (aka Hallmark) records. I have no idea if Chapel existed before Halmark or at the same time, but at least some of the time, they used the same decrepit backing tracks that were the hallmark of Halmark. The only other Chapel records I own are acetates, but today, here's an honest to goodness 45, although my preferred side (of the two) sounds worse than many acetates I've heard.

And it's my preferred side because it features everyone's favorite Halmark dude, BOB STORM!!! He's not named on the label, as usual, but it's clearly him. And not only that, it has one of my two favorite Halmark backing tracks - the one most famously used on on "My Hamburger Baby". If you listen closely, I think you can hear some differences between the track, as used here, and as used on "Hamburger", which, if true, would confirm that Halmark owned the multi-track reels for these tracks. To my ears, the final instrumental coda is missing some of the instruments heard on the version used on "Hamburger".

The other remarkable thing about this record, titled "What is Life Without You", is that it is one of the poorest pressings I've ever heard. The surface noise in the opening sections is a mystery - the record is as clean as they come. And the track audibly wobbles. This is not my turntable OR an offcenter pressing - it seems to have come off of the original reel sounding like this. It's truly horrible.

But Bob Storm comes through like a pro, his over-the-top unctuousness never even missing a beat. Enjoy!

Download: No Artist Named: What is Life Without You?
Play:

The flip side features that other label stalwart, Jack Kim (also uncredited), on a tedious (3 1/2 minute long) piece of religious tribute, perfect for those who want to do penitence in Lent, "With Him in Glory"

Download: No Artist Named: With Him in Glory
Play:

Halmark Before Halmark, Part Two

Here, as the promised follow-up to last Sunday's post, are the other two Chapel Recording Company acetates. You can read more information about these records, and see a truly amazing scam letter that came with one of them here.

The third acetate contains a song called "Hold His Promises to Your Heart". This has considerably better sound on the vocal than did the first two records I shared on Sunday, and the backing track (one I'm not absolutely sure I've heard before) is very clear, compared with the sound of many later Halmark releases.

Download: No Artist Named (Chapel Recording Company) - Hold His Promises to Your Heart
Play:

Finally, there is "Fallow Ground". This one is built on one of my favorite Halmark backing tracks (again, sounding nice and clean here) - a big booming, bombastic opening that gives way to what passes for a soulful arrangement in the Halmark universe. They didn't use this track as often as many of their other records, but I'm always glad to here it. And again, the megaphone from Sunday's tracks seems to have been retired for this track, as well.

Download: No Artist Named (Chapel Recording Company) - Fallow Ground
Play:

Halmark Before Halmark, Part One

Several months ago, I bought a batch of song-poem and related items, all of which have song-poet Enza Cooper as the common thread. These items contained four ten-inch Acetates, which, being a different size than most of the records I buy, ended up in a different spot than virtually everything in my collection, and sat, sort of forgotten, for nearly a year. They are all one sided, and came in record sleeves with the name of the songs on each of them.

I came across them while looking for something else, and they are a revelation. While these four records have long been documented on the AS/PMA website, I don't believe they've ever been shared on line or among collectors.

These four records make up more than half of the documented (on AS/PMA) records on the Chapel Recording Company, one of Ted Rosen's song-poem mills before he settled on the Halmark (AKA Hallmark) label in the late 1960's.

What I find most fascinating about these records is that, already by this point, Rosen was employing the same backing tracks that were used ad nauseam during the Halmark years. And while these records suffer the higher level of noise often heard on acetates, it strikes me that the backing tracks actually sound a little cleaner and clearer than on many Halmark releases. Perhaps he hadn't worn out those tapes at this point, and by 1975, had worn them out enough that they were in poorer condition?

On the other hand, what is with the vocals on these records? They sound like they're being sung through a megaphone, particularly in the second track featured.

First up is the clunky-titled "Please Stuff This Envelope (With Kisses)", with a backing track that any Halmark fan will recognize immediately.


Download: No Artist Named (Chapel Recording Company) - Please Stuff This Envelope (With Kisses)
Play:

Even more familiar will be the backing track to "Tell me of His Love", with the aforementioned vocal which sounds like it was recorded over a phone receiver. See below the label scan for a fun postscript.

Download: No Artist Named (Chapel Recording Company) - Tell Me of His Love
Play:

Along with these records came the following letter, sent to the song-poet, from Ted Rosen himself. This letter is quoted in its entirety at the AS/PMA website, but it's fun to see it, anyway. The person I bought these records from called this a "nice" letter, but in reality it's another play for more $$ from the song-poet. He claims to have added, at his own expense, a chorus of ten singers to her recording session. It's up to her to pay the extra $29.50, of course, but he did spring for them.

Only he didn't. The singers were already there, along with the rest of the track that he'd be using over and over again, for full profit and no further cost, for God knows how many more years.

Part two, featuring the other two records, will follow in a few days.