“Surfer Girl”  The Sentinals  “12 Swingin’ Tunes for the Tuffest of Bunnies”  Del-Fi Records  (1963)   The second Sentinals long-player, Surfer Girl (1963), followed their debut Big Surf! (1963) by only a few scant months. The five-member unit featured future Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young percussionist Johnny Barbata (drums), alongside Tommy Nunes (guitar), Bobby Holmquist (sax), Harry Sackrider (guitar), and Kenny Hinkle (vocals/bass). Their sound is comparable to that of their first collection, blending a handful of originals — primarily by Hinkle this time rather than Nunes — with some adeptly chosen covers. The platter kicks off on the upbeat and clap-happy “Surf ‘n Soul,” sporting a built-in party atmosphere and the occasional whistle and shout thrown in for maximum effect. Although the Holmquist-penned “Sentinal” is presumably the band’s theme song, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the Royaltones’ second-tier hit “Flamingo Express,” while Hinkle’s “Nite Shuffle” is based on “Night Theme” by the Preps, according to Bryan Thomas’ liner notes in the 2004 Big Surf!/Surfer Girl CD reissue. Other standouts of note are the redux of Jessie Hill’s Crescent City R&B classic “Ooh Poh Pa Doo” and Freddie King’s “Sensation,” both of which are admittedly lightweight but thoroughly enjoyable. One of the more fascinating remakes is the comparatively up-tempo rendering of the Beach Boys’ title track “Surfer Girl.” Should keen-eared listeners detect something slightly different about the performance, it may well be because the combo in question is actually the Lively Ones rather than the Sentinals — again, based on Thomas’ essay. This brings up the inevitable conclusion that even though they are undeniably accomplished, the arguably ersatz West Coast style could have easily been mistaken for any number of similar groups such as the Routers, Centurians, Challengers, or Impacts.

Good eye Steve!

(30 votes, average: 3.97 out of 5)

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Wycote Records’ “4 Chipmunks”

Steven Wright writes  … “Your “witch doctor” entry reminded me of this;  this Lp was initially credited to “the 4 chipmunks” before legal pressure forced them to the less plagiaristic “wyncote squirrels”…wyncote was notrious for this — they issued an album called “beatlemania” by the liverpools and “monkey business” by the chimps as blatant ripoffs. Btw, after their first Lp,  david seville allegedly used women to voice his chipmunks”

(36 votes, average: 3.11 out of 5)

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Here’s a 1974 UK reissure and alternate cover to the previously posted Dot Records Mills Brothers release “Mmmm”  This one on Redefusion Records.  And which brother left his bling on the night table?

(29 votes, average: 3.03 out of 5)

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Here are two cover variations for “Night Out Music for Stay-At-Homes”   A nice compilation by Coral recording artists Nat King Cole, Billy Taylor, Errol Garner, etc.   Either one works for me.   Blonde or brunette, obviously staying at home means slipping into something comfortable.     One has company too.

(19 votes, average: 3.84 out of 5)

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“Delirium in HI-FI”   Elsa Popping and Her Pixieland Band   Fontana Records (Philips Records)   AUSTRALIA     Recorded “somewhere in France, “Elsa Popping” is actually French arranger-conductor Andre Popp and sound effects wizard Pierre Fatosme.   Cover Art:   Morris Tookey

Here’s the latest, greatest LP cover I have to get a copy of.     Here’s a $100 bounty for anyone down under (or elsewhere) that can find me a copy!   (This one is Tony’s and that’s just unbearable)   Here’s the more common U.S. cover on Columbia:

(48 votes, average: 4.56 out of 5)

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Monk’s Moods   The Thelonious Monk Trio   Prestige Records (Holland) Dutch cover photo.   Thelonious Monk piano, Gary Mapp or Percy Heath bass, Art Blakey or max Roach drums.     Recorded in 1953

(32 votes, average: 3.34 out of 5)

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Courtesy of M. Glass

(29 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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This is from a neat new site called “Deface Value” Make ART any way, anywhere and any time you can.

(28 votes, average: 2.64 out of 5)

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Illustrator, graphic designer Andrew Kolb reinturprets The Beach Boys “Pet Sounds” cover art.   One of a collection of artists included in the 33 1/3 Art Show.

(38 votes, average: 3.63 out of 5)

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Bottom:   “Destination Moon”   The Ames Brothers   RCA Records.   Top:   From Argentina on Camden RCA

(42 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)

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