Mr Guitar

 横内章次
(Shoji Yokouchi, November 9, 1933? - 1996) Shoji Yokouchi was a composer, arranger and guitarist. He was born in Dalian, Manchuria (northern China).

He graduated from Dalian Commercial High School and after the war, he withdrew from Dalian and returned to Kyushu, southern Japan. He began performing in a U.S. military camp in Kokura, an ancient castle town and the center of Kitakyushu. He later formed a group with Hiroshi Watanabe, Jun Furuya, and Seiji Hiraoka.

He also played as a session guitarist for Chiyo Okumura as well as Mari Nakamoto on her albums "Mari" (1977) and "Lady Bird". One of his most well-known representative works is "Blonde On The Rocks".
Translated from Japanese Wikipedia

Mr Guitar was recorded in the Toshiba Studios in Japan, and according to Discogs this particular record was made in Australia by EMI and released in 1967. Shoji's family name is clearly spelt incorrectly either by mistake or on purpose. The music he creates with his backing group Blue Dreamers, is easy listening Latin guitar. Listen closely for the warm bass lines and atmospheric flashes of brilliance.

Zither Magic

Liner Notes:
The ever changing concepts of modern living have given rise to new ideas in many areas of creative endeavour, including the artistic field of music making. The Zither, although a very ancient and revered instrument, has had to wait for a major talent, with a flair for popular music and a modern mind, to bring it out of its traditional use as an atmospheric background in European cafes, or a twangy accompaniment for old world “folk” ballads. This talent has arrived! He is Viennese born (1937) Karl Swoboda.
Karl, who now appears regularly on European Radio and TV, began zithering when only nine years old. He received his most valuable legitimate training from 1953 to 1956 at the Conservatory of Vienna. The door to fame was opened for him as a result of his winning an amateur contest which led directly to an American TV appearance on the Ted Mack Hour. When he returned home, his still continuing appearances began. His other album for Philips, “Pop Goes the Zither” is a hit on both continents, thereby making him an artist of international stature.
Karl uses the delicate instrument more like a guitar, in that he has freed the zither from its usual traditional use in a chordal mode with his conception of a free flowing single note melodic line. The zither has many tone qualities which can remind one of the piano, harpsichord, harp or guitar. In the hands of Karl Swoboda it takes on a very warm and personal sound with a timbre on certain numbers not unlike that of the great gipsy guitarist Django Reinhardt.
The main accompanying unit for this trip of Karl’s into the world of popular music is a small violin section, a big band type saxophone section, and the four man rhythm section. Included selections are the ultra modern Beatles composition, “Yesterday”, the hard swinging, “The In Crowd”, and “A Taste Of Honey”, on which Karl plays the theme in a very pretty ‘music box’ style against the big band background. There are some fine tenor saxophone solos on those tunes.
Three themes from three excellent films are given the modern touch by versatile Karl Swoboda. On Theme From “A Summer Place” he elicits that guitar-like flavour over a carpet of woodwinds and softly playing strings. On “Goldfinger” his sound is hard and deep. And, on “Zorba The Greek”, he uses the age old tradition of the single instrument playing the theme slowly and building by acceleration, joined by the fiddles, to an exciting climax.
“Sole, Sole, Sole” is light hearted in the “Third Man Theme” style. “A Walk in The Black Forest” quite naturally maintains the European flavour, with some very good woodwind work. “Stranger On The Shore” spotlights Karl’s sense of humour and relaxed manner, and the Mancini/Mercer “The Sweetheart Tree” is given a beautiful waltz treatment. “Unchained Melody”, and “Ebb Tide”, the two great songs that made singer Roy Hamilton famous, are here given their most sensitive reading since his climactic ones years ago.
All of the selections in this new album are delightful for listening or dancing. There is a variety of mood, tempo, and melody, and through it all the very great talent of Karl Swoboda, the most versatile and swinging “Zither-ist” of today, will continually delight.
Arranged by Bobby Opratko

Accordion a la Carte . . .

Liner Notes:
Perhaps no other instrument so clearly reveals the capabilities and accomplishments of the performer as does the accordion. From pure melody to sparkling flash, the control and mastery, or lack of it, constantly expose the musicianship of the accordionist.
In this album, the accordion meets its master. Louis Bregoli, with flawless ease, brings to you music at its spectacular best. Long recognized as a leading accordionist, Bregoli has conquered many proving grounds. Not only is he considered one of the finest studio musicians available for exacting TV and Radio work, but his reputation as a leading teacher of the instrument is unquestioned. Never lacking in musicianship and technique, there are no barriers, no compromises. For an example of this wizardry, listen to ‘DIZZY FINGERS” or “NOLA”.
Here’s accordion à la Bregoli — a favorite dish to please and delight, yet sure to suggest a second helping.

DIZZY FINGERS
THE WEDDING OF THE PAINTED DOLL
TICO TICO
SWEDISH RHAPSODY
DARK EYES
PETITE WALTZ (Medley)
LITTLE BROWN JUG
SCHOOL DAYS
CZARDIS
DOLL DANCE
STRAUSS WALTZ MEDLEY
NOLA
CARNIVAL OF VENICE
MY PRETTY BRUNETTE (Polka)


Joe "Sonny" Barbato was a student of Louis Bregoli.

The Dubliners Live

Liner Notes:
To say that the Dubliners are Entertainers is to state the obvious. I can think of no better way of underlining this simple truth than in a live album.
“The Dubliners Live” is a fairly typical Dubliners programme performed in front of an enthusiastic and appreciative audience in one of the Yorkshire Clubs. These clubs have a well-earned reputation for expecting and getting the best in the entertainment field. This show is no exception. It scores in other ways too. Here is a completely new recording of a number of well loved Dubliners Classics alongside updated version of numbers guaranteed to raise the roof. Then there are the first ever Dubliners recordings of “The Four Poster Bed” (a traditional Shetland wedding tune) and “The Belfast Hornpipe/Tim Maloney” medley played on tin whistle. John Sheahan then takes up his fiddle again for the “Blue Mountain Rag”.
Add to this the between number talk and humour which is so much part of the Dubliners, and the album which has been long and eagerly awaited, is complete.
It is something of a minor miracle that five such diverse characters have remained together as a group for more than eleven years now. Maybe it is their very differences which provide the strong bond between them – that and the fact that they have never seen the need to use the slick trappings of showbusiness. To say that they have succeeded on a world stage is perhaps an over-simplification. However, it remains an irrefutable truth that by remaining themselves they have brought something very special to people the world over. Wherever they appear they engender warmth, affection, laughter and perhaps ever an occasional tear.
Their unique brand of magic has assured them of a niche in the annals of popular music. Even more important perhaps is their impact on people. Barney MacKenna once remarked that the Dubliners were made by their audiences. No matter how talented they were individually or collectively, if people lost the will to listen to them then they would be finished. This precept has undoubtedly played its part in their lives but as a member of innumerable audiences over the years one can say that without the Dubliners many lives would be the poorer.

MARY HARDY

Special thanks to the Shakespeare Theatre Club, Liverpool
Recorded at the Fiesta Club, Sheffield (24th March 1973)

Jimmy Shand Favourites Volume 1

Jimmy Shand at Wikipedia.

The 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett - Take you to Hawaii

Liner Notes:
Hawaii is one of those fun sun places which everybody has heard of but comparatively few get the chance to visit. It’s rather a long way away in the blue Pacific and nobody in Britain has yet managed to organise a conveniently priced package holiday deal to enable we sun-starved Britons to sample its sun sea and sand.
We all know about its existence of course lots of us were aware of it via soothing and sultry recordings of Hawaiian music featuring those seductively wailing steel guitars and strumming ukeleles long before we made the TV acquaintance of Steve McGarrett and the other sleuths of Hawaii 5-0. Music can be totally expressive and it certainly is in the case of the Hawaiian Islands Lulling languorous sometimes syncopated but always evocative of palm trees gently swaying in a light breeze off an azure sea and miles of golden sand and tropical temperatures. The eight Hawaiian Islands containing people are Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau. They grow sugar cane and pineapples amongst other pleasant sun drenched things and they entertain and charm immense numbers of tourist halidaymakers each year. Captain Cook (British you know) was the first European officially acknowledged to have visited those shares in 1778. Although the Spaniards reckoned they were there briefly at least two hundred years before, Captain Cook didn’t really get the right tourist treatment because when he resigned to those sunny shares in 1779 he got involved in a scuffle with the hitherto friendly natives who believed him to be an incarnation of their god Lono on his first visit. The second time around was not so idyllic and Captain Cook died thereon the beach the first of a considerable number of white people from afar to be eliminated by the indigenous Polynesians. American missionaries pacified the Islands a hundred years and more ago and The Hawaiian War Chant is really the last relic of warlike character of a basically friendly people some of whom settled in New Zealand a long time ago and are known as Maoris. They took to the guitar and gave it a special character and style of their own as well as developing the smaller ukelele in its support. This LP presents the best known tunes that have come out of the Islands played by a famous group of Californian guitarists who have built up a formidable reputation on record over recent years under the skilful direction of Tommy "Snuff" Garrett one of Americas leading record producers.

The 50 Guitars treat the songs of the Islands in authentically mellow style drawing forth the full melodic charm and remembering the Maori element with Now Is The Hour. Also present is the beautiful Hawaiian Wedding Song, the evocative Lovely Hula Hands referring to the enticingly graceful matrons of the pretty wahines or Hawaiian girls who speak a language with their hands as well as their hips when dancing and the famous song of farewell Aloha Oe believed to have been written by Queen Liliukalani the last ruler of the Hawaiian Islands before they went under American administration. It's another winner by the 50 Guitars and redolent of sun sand and surf.

NIGEL HUNTER

Arranger Hank Levine
Produced by Tommy "Snuff" Garrett
Art Direction Pierre Tubbs

Golden Guitar

The Royal Guitar Ensemble