Singers Unlimited compilations

[Larry Kart]

At a library sale over the weekend I was delighted to find two MPS double CDs (40 or more tracks each) and one single CD (20 tracks), in top drawer MPS sound but with no annotation. $3 total. Won't replace all my old SU LPs, but the upgrade in sound is considerable. They're labeled CD 3/4,CD 5/6, and CD 7. Don't see other volumes on Amazon.

 

Oops -- these must have come from the "Magic Voices" box set, which goes for $129.

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/11/2021 at 11:43 PM, Larry Kart said:

At a library sale over the weekend I was delighted to find two MPS double CDs (40 or more tracks each) and one single CD (20 tracks), in top drawer MPS sound but with no annotation. $3 total. Won't replace all my old SU LPs, but the upgrade in sound is considerable. They're labeled CD 3/4,CD 5/6, and CD 7. Don't see other volumes on Amazon.

 

Oops -- these must have come from the "Magic Voices" box set, which goes for $129.

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Good score!  

It is probably beginning to get warm in chilly Highland Park, is it not?  Be sure to make a notation on your calendar to throw a fondue party this winter and to play these discs for the soundtracks.  Try to talk the female attendees into wearing some early 70s Heidelberg chic!

Nothing beats the combination of wine, fondue, and Singers Unlimited on a snowy winter day...Except perhaps the combination of a Jet Pilot or 151 Swizzle with The Complete Cuban Jam Sessions on a really hot day! 

Edited May 11, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[Teasing the Korean]

The Singers Unlimited nicely capture that feeling of early 70s ennui, don't they?   The Carpenters occasionally touched on this mood, for example, with their masterpiece "Superstar," but couldn't sustain it.  The Free Design are the group that falls in a perfect place between the Carpenters and Singers Unlimited in terms of pop accessibility, harmonic sophistication, and early 70s ennui.  Singers Unlimited are a good gateway into the Free Design if you've never heard the latter.

 

And if you prefer to stick with MPS for that irresistible fondue aesthetic, there is the Third Wave!

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[rostasi]

Where do you rate The Association on that level?

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/12/2021 at 12:41 AM, rostasi said:

Where do you rate The Association on that level?

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I know primarily the hits.  The deep cuts that I am familiar with are more psych than vocal harmony - check out sometime their incredible "Pandora's Golden Heebie Jeebies."  It is quite possible that they have some deep cuts that are more harmony-based.

I think what the Free Design and Singers Unlimited share in common is a very contemporary sound that for the most part eschewed the typical harmonies associated with straight-ahead jazz.  It is hard to believe that the guy who arranged for the Hi-Los also arranged for Singers Unlimited.  It was a radically different approach.

Similarly, the main writer/arranger in the Free Design was also a classical vocalist who sang with art music ensembles.  As you get further and further into the Free Design's output, there is more and more of a contemporary classical/art song quality about what they did. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[Larry Kart]

  On 5/12/2021 at 12:16 AM, Teasing the Korean said:

The Singers Unlimited nicely capture that feeling of early 70s ennui, don't they?   The Carpenters occasionally touched on this mood, for example, with their masterpiece "Superstar," but couldn't sustain it.  The Free Design are the group that falls in a perfect place between the Carpenters and Singers Unlimited in terms of pop accessibility, harmonic sophistication, and early 70s ennui.  Singers Unlimited are a good gateway into the Free Design if you've never heard the latter.

 

And if you prefer to stick with MPS for that irresistible fondue aesthetic, there is the Third Wave!

 

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"Ennui" and the Singers Unlimited?

 

  On 5/12/2021 at 12:16 AM, Teasing the Korean said:

The Singers Unlimited nicely capture that feeling of early 70s ennui, don't they?   The Carpenters occasionally touched on this mood, for example, with their masterpiece "Superstar," but couldn't sustain it.  The Free Design are the group that falls in a perfect place between the Carpenters and Singers Unlimited in terms of pop accessibility, harmonic sophistication, and early 70s ennui.  Singers Unlimited are a good gateway into the Free Design if you've never heard the latter.

 

And if you prefer to stick with MPS for that irresistible fondue aesthetic, there is the Third Wave!

 

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"Ennui" and the Singers Unlimited? I don't know what you're talking about. I think of their music in terms of joyful sophistication, harmonic sophistication in particular.

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/12/2021 at 2:02 PM, Larry Kart said:

"Ennui" and the Singers Unlimited? I don't know what you're talking about. I think of their music in terms of joyful sophistication, harmonic sophistication in particular.

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Yes, I pick up on lots of 70s ennui, especially in their a cappella recordings.  They have that cold, Black Forest sound.  They remind me a sad 1970s-era housewife whose mascara is running, because she is crying over her husband's affair with his younger secretary.

[Larry Kart]

  On 5/12/2021 at 2:05 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

Yes, I pick up on lots of 70s ennui, especially in their a cappella recordings.  They have that cold, Black Forest sound.  They remind me a sad 1970s-era housewife whose mascara is running, because she is crying over her husband's affair with his younger secretary.

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You have a fertile (too fertile?) imagination. 

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/12/2021 at 2:14 PM, Larry Kart said:

You have a fertile (too fertile?) imagination. 

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Well, that is the beauty of art and entertainment.  We each form our own impressions and associations.  

Ennui or not, I highly encourage you during the colder months to throw a fondue party, encourage guests to wear 70s fashions, and spin MPS music, especially Singers Unlimited, for the soundtrack.  I hope to receive an invitation, though I can't promise that I'll be able to attend.

Edited May 12, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[Larry Kart]

My fondue party will have one guest, Bonnie Herman.

[JSngry]

  On 5/12/2021 at 2:05 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

They remind me a sad 1970s-era housewife whose mascara is running, because she is crying over her husband's affair with his younger secretary.

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She's married to Nelson Riddle, and here's his take on things:

 https://youtu.be/c_rrfg7w5yU

 

[HutchFan]

Great thread.  

 

 

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/12/2021 at 2:59 PM, Larry Kart said:

My fondue party will have one guest, Bonnie Herman.

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I hope you make more friends between now and then.  Numerous studies have revealed that longevity is based in part on forming meaningful bonds with other primates.  I will be your friend if you need one.  

Edited May 12, 2021 by Teasing the Korean

[JSngry]

  On 5/12/2021 at 3:38 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

I hope you make more friends between now and then.  Numerous studies have revealed that longevity is based in part on forming meaningful bonds with other primates.  I will be your friend if you need one.  

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Bonnie Herman has always had an old soul, even as a teenager;

https://youtu.be/t45JBf-xbNI

[Larry Kart]

  On 5/12/2021 at 3:56 PM, JSngry said:

Bonnie Herman has always had an old soul, even as a teenager;

https://youtu.be/t45JBf-xbNI

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Happy to be your friend, TTK, though I already have a good many. Bonnie, however, though we've never met, would be a friend and a half. She did send me a nice postcard once after I wrote a review that praised a friend of hers, singer-pianist Audrey Morris.

[Teasing the Korean]

  On 5/12/2021 at 6:09 PM, Larry Kart said:

Happy to be your friend, TTK, though I already have a good many. Bonnie, however, though we've never met, would be a friend and a half. She did send me a nice postcard once after I wrote a review that praised a friend of hers, singer-pianist Audrey Morris.

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Yes, I remember you telling that story in another thread!  

Do the discs in that box set go chronologically, or are they arranged stylistically?

[Daniel A]

Somewhat chronologically, I believe. But the Christmas album is missing. 

[Daniel A]