All right, maybe one of you can explain this to me. Why would the Der Wienerschnitzel restaurant put out an album by a mariachi band? (And this is the second one. The back cover mentions a previous one by this same nameless group as well.) This is an album of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass-lite type music. In fact, Alpert and his band probably already performed their own versions of these as well. Most of the songs work pretty well here, but "The Sound of Music" doesn't really fit this style, does it?
Also, I can't say I know my artists that well, but does this cover sort of look like it was illustrated by Jack Rickard of Mad Magazine fame?
Here's the track list:
- Casino Royale
- Chili, Mustard and Kraut
- Sound of Music
- Georgy Girl
- Up-Up and Away
- I've Got Rhythm
- The More I See You
- Somewhere My Love
- Born Free
- Music to Watch Girls By
- Der Wiener Winner
George Garabedian's Mark 56 label specialized in premium records for various companes, and at the height of Herb Alpert mania they produced cash-in records for multiple clients, including Laura Scudder potato chips, Alpha Beta supermarkets, Taco Bell, Pepsi, Tastee-Freez, Phillips 66, and perhaps the best known, Colonel Sanders' Tijuana Picnic. He also put out a great surf album by the Avengers VI for Good Humor ice cream and dozens of old time radio albums (my first encounter with Mark 56 was a mail-away set of the Superman radio show from Kellogg's that I ordered in the early '70s). I suspect that most of the "Tijuana Brass"-style albums are the same tracks retitled, but I haven't compared any.
ReplyDeleteDer Wienerschnitzel?
ReplyDeleteYEAH!
Actually kinda miss those since I'm no longer in LA. Best dogs in the US, but probably at Cupids, NOT Der Wienerschnitzel!
Look, it makes about as much sense as the name of their restaurant! A "Wienerschnitzel" is a German dish of breaded veal cutlet. And there are three ways to say "the" in German, and they used the wrong one! It's actually "das" Wienerschnitzel, not "der."
ReplyDeleteI believe the name of the band that is featured here is: The Baja Marimba Band. They were headed by Julious Wechter, a friend & musical partner of Herb Alpert. They were a marvelously fun band. Check 'em out on youtube...
ReplyDelete