A Syd Dale Miscellany (7 LPs):
hxxps://mega.nz/#F!jfBFxIqR!gyvZt1_2flezxEeNvUXujQThis posting is for those with a more than passing interest in Syd Dale.
It is a folder containing 7 albums that Syd Dale was involved in on some level.
Some have been shared here before, but these are my new rips.
The Syd Dale Orchestra: The Chaplin Collection (Windmill 1973)It is credited to "The Syd Dale Orchestra" on Discogs, but I find noe artist name
on my copy. But Syd Dale's name is mentioned in connection with this
nameless orchestra on the back cover, so it is without a doubt a Dale record.
I don't reckon
The Chaplin Collection among his best, but it has
some lively moments. And some kitschy vocal tracks, especially the discopop opener. It may look like a cheapo, but the production sound is high class 70s.
Brazilia 70 & The Chico Lopez All-Stars: South Of The Border (Gallery Stereo 1970)For Dale afficionados
South Of The Border is a must (also released under the title
Fiesta! and the name
Dali Caldis). A great combination of tijuana, beat and fuzz, seriously catchy. I have never seen the musicians credited, but it would surprise me if the guitarist is anyone else than
Vic Flick, and I'm convinced that
Ray Davies is among the trumpeters, cause the recording sound very much like Ray Davies'
Manzanilla Sound project. (This one would be a good choice for a remastered reissue, I think. Hey, reissue labels, are you listening?!)
Dali Caldis & His Brazilian Nuts - In A Swinging Christmas Dance Party (Deacon 1970)I would also call this Xmas record a must. It has much of the same fresh sound as
South Of The Border, both very much inspired by
Herb Alpert.
Bama Winds - Windy (Island Records 1967)Bama Winds is easy listening, but not so easy to categorize. It has no musician credits, so it's a fun game to guess who's on it. I'm sure a gang of library legends is involved. Nice flute and marimba are the main ingredients, light small group sound, vagely exotic and polite versions of hits of the day. No brass or string sections on this one. Syd Dale is credited as arranger. My faves are "Grazin' In The Grass" and "Do You Know The Way To San José?" But can you imagine a Syd Dale outfit playing "If The Weather's Sunny" by UK psych-popsters
The Smoke?! Seeing that Dale's group project
The New Elizabethans (see below) later had a record out on the Morgan label (see below), the connection gets clearer, cause
Morgan Studios was where some of the boys in The Smoke were working as tea boys, sound engineers and session players. It's also worth noting that Syd Dale wasn't the only main man behind the Bama Winds project. The album was produced by the founder of Island Records himself:
Chris Blackwell. Another piece in the puzzle is that Syd Dale also wrote orchestral arrangements for
Nirvana, who was also signed to Blackwell's Island Records.
Johnny Edwards - Slightly Latin (BBC 1976)The Johnny Edwards album is a soft solo easy listening record by the well-known session trombone player, with music produced and arranged by Syd Dale. Edwards' own composition, "Fiesta", is a highlight. I also like "Evening In Ipanema". The recording has a beautiful studio sound, very cool, calm and collected. Curiously it includes "All On A Summer's Day"(Dale) from
Amphonic AMPS 107 - The Happy Beat. It also contains one other original Dale tune called "El Mejor", which I can't remember having heard anywhere else. Edwards and Dale must have known each other ever since the early 1950's, cause they both played in
the Squadronaires (the dance orchestra of the Royal Air Force). Edwards is credited with at least 2 tunes on the Amphonic "yellow series". Some of the other musicians credited on this album:
Jim Lawless, Tony Carr (latin percussion),
Eric Ford, Vic Flick (guitars),
Herbie Flowers (bass). It's likely that Johnny Edwards' trombone can be heard on both the tijuana albums above. Edwards was later in on sessions for Bruton, according to Oliver Lomax' book
The Mood Modern.
The New Elizabethans' first record was
A Sarabande Of Wives (Metronome 1968). I have it, but it has too much crackle to be included in this miscellany. It would need an expert to clean it up. Luckily their second release recycles some of the best tunes from the first, and also includes tracks recorded with
Dick Hyman at the harpsichord (an electric one, I think). The best stuff by The New Elizabethans can also be found on
Amphonic AMPS 1004 - Harpsichord Rhythm Group.
Bonus LP (or bogus LP):
The Session Singers - Sounds Like The Carpenters (Contour 1973).
This one says: Produced by
Syd Dale and
Joan Walker, Musical Director and Arranger:
Gerry Butler. Engineer:
Adrian Kerridge. Recorded at
Lansdowne Studios.
So if you can't afford to buy a "best of Carpenters" for a quid, you can perhaps make do with this one... It's not bad at all, but the children chorus on "Sing" should surely have been done better. Joan Walker's Karen Carpenter impersonation is sometimes so similar it's scary.
Syd Dale's elegant touches and flair as arranger can be heard on all these recordings.
All lossless flac. I have removed some clicks and pops manually, but some crackle must be expected.
