MGM

There have been several articles from my ‘fellow-bloggers’ regarding old records. I thought I’d head down to the ’storage area’ to check out what I might have. It seems that a lot of them had really awful covers, at least per the recent blogs. Many featured unattractive folks in less-than-pretty settings. Many ’stars’ that would not last a minute with Simon Cowell scrutinizing them.
But I was sure that I could find some that offered beautiful, creative and at very least, interesting, ’sleeves.’
Let’s see what I have found. The first one was really unusual. It features a younger Rod Stewart in the album called Atlantic Crossing. It shows a bunch of exaggerated, colorful skyscrapers against a dark sky with scads of stars. The tall and ‘lit-up’ Mr. Stewart is pouring light from a bottle. Probably good fun for him to be pictured that large! It has a truly ‘art deco’ flair to it. I checked the song list and don’t think it was one of his biggest successes. But, boy, that cover is something!

The next one is really old! It features a young man, smiling, showing dazzling white teeth. Almost as white as his 10-gallon Stetson hat. We look closer and see an early Gene Autry, America’s favorite cowboy. The corner picture shows him on his horse, Champion! Colorful, bright, music notes too, what’s not to like?

While this next one does not qualify as ‘beautiful’, it certainly is unique and thought-provoking. It is from Jethro Tull’s “Aqualung” album and shows a rather demented looking gent with scraggly hair and a grimace. He carries something in his long coat and must have at least one secret. The poster on the fence makes reference to Christmas shopping – how bizarre.

Now on to a truly sweet cover. Cat Stevens “Teaser and the Firecat.” A real charmer featuring a little boy in a top-hat, holding the skeleton of a fish. A rather porky, orange cat is nearby. (It definitely reminds me of a friend’s cat.) He probably just enjoyed that fish! Rather simple, pleasant and with a bit of whimsy.

A real special one follows for you fans of Bourbon Street Music – Pete Fountain’s “Standing Room Only” album cover. It shows the front of his French Quarter Inn, New Orleans, Louisiana with a long line of anxious fans. Not sure if it is still open since Katrina, but it sure looks welcoming. And the music was incredible!

Another favorite cover is from a long-ago music master, Neal Hefti. He had a “jazz pops orchestra”, wanting to cover several venues. We see credit for the design was given to Paula Powers. A real delight!

And who could pass up the three beauties on the cover of this one? Well, two beauties and one guy. This is an album from Tony Orlando & Dawn. They are definitely dressed to kill-lots of sequins, fur and Tony in his tux – ooh-la-la!

A blast from the past – that’s what I’d call this album – Sandy Nelson’s “Drums are My Beat.” Back in his day, Sandy played with the best of them including The Teddy Bears and Gene Vincent. His idol was Gene Krupa. I remember him best for “Teen Beat.” The drums on this cover are really unique!

Now for a real treat – Music from the MGM Motion Picture, The Singing Nun! This album shows a church yard with a group of kids, listening to Sister Dominique. I do remember the up-beat, happy songs.

On a sadder note, I came across this album “Teresa Brewer and the Dixieland Band.” I understand she passed away a short while ago and when you see her vibrant red hair, charismatic smile and energy, it’s hard to believe. The cover has a group of red and white jackets and instruments in the background. Ms. Brewer tips her red and white hat and appears ready to belt out another song. She had an incredible voice!

Next time you’re in a record store or thrift shop or such, check out some of their records – you might be surprised at the creativity in these oldies. The CD’s of today are sure bland by comparison, but admittedly, the sound is better in a lot of cases. But these old covers can offer ‘music to your eyes.’ Happy hunting!
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In 1999, my frugal mother took Downy’s advice, bought a copy of the new Wizard Of Oz VHS video release, and sent in her little rebate form. A few short weeks later, an amazing thing happened — the $5 rebate check that arrived was not some green-patterned security check from a nameless East-coast bank. No, what arrived was a work of art — right down to its envelope. The check itself is a full-color illustration of the fabulous foursome from Baum’s book, guaranteed by the Emerald City branch of the Royal Bank Of Oz.

Frugal though my mom may be, she couldn’t bring herself to endorse a work of art and condemn it to a bank’s secure document shredder. The cheque still lives with her, beautifully matted and framed, on her dresser in the bedroom.

Some Oz memorabilia brings bigger than a $5 check, though: last week, a Minneapolis artist, Bill Mack, parted with one of his cherished relics: Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion costume from the film. An anonymous bidder shelled out over three-quarters of a million dollars for the costume, the only major character costume in private ownership, which had been restored by Mack and posed on a mannequin resembling Lahr. He hasn’t decided to sell his other Oz relic, though — the Wicked Witch of the West’s hat.

The Wizard of Oz crosses a number of collecting genres, starting at its humble beginnings as a children’s book (and possible political allegory). The book was originally published in 1900, and experienced early popularity that encouraged Baum to continue the series for 14 more books. Others continued in Baum’s shoes, penning another 26 Oz stories, and even more have since the original copyright expired during the 1950s. Besides the expiration of the book’s copyright, W.W.Denslow’s original artwork is also in the public domain, allowing most any creative person to sell Wizard of Oz images as collectibles. However, the L. Frank Baum Family Trust offers their endorsement to select products. The earliest editions of his books are, understandably, extremely valuable, but were reprinted in high enough volume that relatively old copies, close to the original version, can be found for reasonable prices.

The film, of course, arrived with the force of the newly-developed Technicolor process and the backing of a treasured story. MGM’s movie has become a timeless icon of family films, and has its own group of collectors who may have no interest in the original books. Aside from actual props and costumes (many of which are in the Smithsonian), MGM and eventually Warner Bros have continued to release official merchandise over the years. This hadn’t stopped unofficial ‘knock-offs’ from occasionally being produced, using the movie characters’ likenesses, while others hint at the movie characters (as opposed to the book’s characters, at right) but do not directly refer to the film.