Land of Lemonade and Lollipops

Here's another one of those albums with songs from a number of sources and a strange random looking cover ("So, Kid, move that candy cane over a little to the right. No, MY right!"). There's some pretty good songs here though. This also scores points for being my new favorite version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain". See if you like it as much as I do.

Here's the track list:

1. Land of Lemonade and Lollipops
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain
3. Back Home (Way Back Home)
4. Marching Song (Children's Marching Song)
5. Little Dutch Boy & Little Dutch Girl
6. Dem Dry Bones
7. Little Red Schoolhouse
8. Stasha Pandowski
9. Billy Boy
10. Grandfather Clock

Click here or here to download!

The Next Hundred Years - The Ragtimers

Remember back in the late 1960s when everybody thought it was cool to do songs that sounded like they came out in the twenties? Yeah kids, people really did that. This is an album of old songs (and songs they made sound old) by the Ragtimers, a group I know absolutely nothing about. Hope you like it!

Here's the track list:

1. The Next Hundred Years
2. (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
3. Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?
4. My Melody of Love
5. Soft Shoe Song (Give Me That Old Soft Shoe)
6. Those Were the Days
7. Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose
8. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree
9. What Have They Done to My Song, Ma
10. Second Hand Rose
11. Ragtime Waltz
12. The Entertainer

Click here to download!

Trains, Planes and Space Ships

This is an odd little album. The first cut, "Skyliner Flight 35", is a simulation of how it sounded if you were in the cockpit listening to the pilots take off and land a plane. The second, "The Columbia Limited" is the same sort of thing except with a train, and the other two cuts, for no particular reason, are two Rocky Jones sci-fi adventures. Enjoy!

Here's the track list:

1. Skyliner Flight 35


2. The Columbian Limited


3. Rocky Jones and the Space Pirates


4. Shipwrecked on Planet X

Click here or here to download!

Puff and Toot and Other Musical Stories - Twinkle Orchestra and Chorus

I was going to tell you about this exciting album of train (and clown) songs, but I think the liner notes on the back of the album will do a much better job than I will. (Note the punctuation and spelling are exactly as they're found in the quote) :

Hi there, the jolly conductor of Twinkle Records tells us that he is all set to take us on an imaginative trip to adventure land with Puff & Toot.

We can't wait . . . First we'll ride the Red Caboose and we'll see Squeegie the Clown and stop Down By The Station. But Oh then . . . we can ride the Chocolate Train . . . isn't that exciting? Just think a Chocolate Train all for us. I can't wait can you. Well climb on cause here we go..."ALL ABOARD".

Hi, it's me again. I was going to tell you guys to curtail any "Chocolate Train" jokes, but whoever wrote this seems to dwell on it a bit TOO much if you ask me. And if they wanted us to be excited, you'd think they would have put at least one exclamation point in there. Anyway, this really is a fun combination of train songs (most likely from a number of different sources), so enjoy!

Here's the track list:

1. Puff and Toot


2. The Red Caboose


3. Chocolate Train


4. Squeegie the Happy Clown


5. Down by the Station


6. I've Been Working on the Railroad


7. Circus


8. Where Do Ya Worka John

Click here or here to download!

Galloping on My Dinosaur and Other Fun Songs for Children - Larry Thor

I'm not familiar with Larry Thor, but according to the Internet Movie Database he did quite a bit of work on radio and TV, appearing in such series as The Munsters, Leave It to Beaver, Gilligan's Island, and The Andy Griffith Show. These are some fun little songs written by Thor himself that simply feature him and his guitar. With all the crazy orchestrated and synthesized albums I normally hear, this is a very pleasant change of pace. Hope you like it!

Here's the track list:

1. Sad Day, Lonely Day
2. The Gimme Pig
3. When You Hurt
4. Picnic
5. Answer Every Question
6. Matinee Lullaby
7. Scary Song
8. Since You Went Away
9. Worry Time
10. TV Song
11. Galloping on My Dinosaur
12. Lullaby

Click here to download!

Songs from "Your a Good Man Charlie Brown" - The Kid Stuff Repertory Company

I have found yet another version of the "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" album, this one from the infamous Kid Stuff Repertory Company. These are the same people who did the two kiddie disco albums I recently had on the blog. There is one problem with this album right off the bat, which you'll notice if you look at the album cover above. The actual title of this album is "Songs from Your a Good Man Charlie Brown". That's right, they couldn't even spell the name of the show correctly! And they had a number of shots to get it right: The title on the front cover, the song list on the cover, the title on the spine of the album, even the label on the record itself get it wrong!

And the interpretations for the songs are all screwy. For instance, the title song, which should be this loud fun boisterous tune has been turned into a slow ballad like the poor guy died or something! And "Happiness", which should be a slow song, is done uptempo. The intro to "The Kite", with its heavy synthesizer, makes it sound like it should be the theme to a news show. "Suppertime" sounds like the music is done by Miami Sound Machine. "Snoopy" is OK, except the beginning and end, which are supposed be slow and wistful are fast, and the middle part (the "fierce jungle animal" part) is slow. And finally, if you've ever wanted to hear Linus's song "My Blanket and Me" done in the style of a '70s cop show theme, you now have your wish.

When I listened to this, I spent half the time laughing and half the time shaking my head in disbelief. This is, to my knowledge, the strangest version of this music I've ever heard. There is a sort of morbid fascination here, like trying not to stare at a car accident but not being able to help yourself.

And one more thing. Take a good look at the kid I guess was supposed to represent Charlie Brown on the cover. How do you like that t-shirt?

Half of me think that that's the most pathetic thing I've ever seen, and the other half thinks I should go to CafePress and declare it the first official Way Out Junk t-shirt design!!

Here's the track list:

1. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
2. The Kite
3. My Blanket and Me
4. Happiness
5. Suppertime
6. Snoopy
7. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Reprise)

Click here to download!

Victor Borge Presents His Own Enchanting Version of Hans Christian Andersen

This was a special request that I was happy to fill. It has stories by Hans Christian Andersen told by another of Denmark's famous natives, pianist/comedian Victor Borge. This is interesting because, interspersed with Andersen's tales, Borge talks about his childhood and how much these famous stories meant to him, even to the point of reading while he was practicing scales on the piano. Now he pretty much tells the stories as is, playing classical music underneath and only throwing in humor when it is appropriate.

This album was put out in 1966 by Eastern Air Lines, so I'm thinking it was possibly a reissue of an album later used as a premium or giveaway. Whatever it was, it's a wonderful set of stories told and accompanied by Borge. Enjoy!

Here's the track list:

1. Introduction and My Favorite Song
2. The Tinder Box
3. The Ugly Duckling
4. The Emperor's New Clothes
5. The Princess and the Pea
6. Papa's Always Right
7. The Little Match Girl
8. It's Perfectly True

Click here to download!

Doctor Dolittle Presents the Grasshoppers

Like my previous share, this is reminiscent of the Beatles as well, but only in name. This group of singing insects was featured on the "Doctor Doolittle" cartoon. This is nothing more than a bunch of happy perky pleasant little songs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Enjoy!

Here's the track list:

1. When You Wear a Happy Smile
2. Everything's Gonna Be Fine
3. Tiger Moo
4. You've Got an Allergy
5. It's the Happenin' Thing
6. Doggone Dog
7. When the Sky Is Clear, When the Water's Clean
8. On a Train Goin' West
9. Good Friends Come in All Sizes
10. You Can Do It
11. You Can Really Fly
12. A Friend in Need

Click here to download!

Once Upon a Beetle - The London Theatre Players

Going from disco to the British Invasion, here's a story about four little Beetles who want to make their fortune playing music. It's a fun little story that at least is done by British people. (I'm assuming the London Theatre Players are British.)

You may have noticed the unusual cover for this record. Apparently the original cover was a puzzle in the surrounding frame, and under that you could color the picture. Well, the copy I got didn't have the puzzle pieces in it any more, and the picture had been colored so long ago I couldn't get the colors off! Anyway, hope you like this album!

Click here to download!

Toon Tunes - Action-Packed Anthems

When I took off "The Mighty Hercules" CD because it became available from Amazon.com, it was pointed out to me that the actual "Mighty Hercules" theme song was not a part of that album. I had included it as a bonus track. This is the CD I got the song from. I checked around and it turns out that it's out of print, so I figured I'd put it up here! There's a wide range of cartoon themes here, from "Underdog" to "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", and even rarities like "The Hardy Boys" cartoon and "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan"! I think most of these are the real theme songs as heard on the cartoon, but I get a feeling that some of these may have been redone. This also helps to fulfill one of my unofficial goals, which is to have as many versions of the Popeye theme song as possible. Yeah, I think this one is different from any of the others I've got. In fact, it sounds to me like the oldest version of them all. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!

Here's the track list:

1. Super Friends
2. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
3. Speed Racer
4. Batman: The Animated Series
5. The Tick
6. The Powerpuff Girls
7. Jonny Quest
8. Space Ghost
9. Sailor Moon
10. Spider-Man
11. King Kong
12. Duck Tales
13. Underdog
14. X-Men
15. Popeye the Sailor
16. Mighty Mouse
17. The Mighty Hercules
18. Super Chicken
19. Chip 'N Dale Rescue Rangers
20. The New Scooby-Doo Movies
21. The New Adventures of Superman
22. Astro Boy
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
24. Hong Kong Phooey
25. Darkwing Duck
26. The Hardy Boys
27. Gigantor
28. Tale Spin
29. Crusader Rabbit
30. The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan
31. The Atom Ant Show
32. Touche Turtle
33. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
34. Captain Planet and the Planeteers
35. The Secret Squirrel Show
36. The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest

Click here to download!