First things first: I thank every single one of you who voted. You made my 100th BATTLE OF THE BANDS Birthday Bash a success! I think it was a terrific Battle and I thank y'all for making it .F.-.U.-.N.. This was precisely the sort o' contest I was hoping to have to mark this BOTB milestone.
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A special shout-out to my two first-time voters G Dogg and LarryR, and also to our BOTB friend Kim who has been AWOL for quite some time. I hope to see all three of you fine people back here again for my next Battle on February 1st.
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The action took place [link> HERE, and it was a 3-Way "Twisted BOTB" installment with a Burlesque theme. This was a really close back-n-forth horse race all the way into the home stretch. Not quite a photo finish, but nearly so. There wasn't a dog in the race -- all thoroughbreds, all American Pharoahs! Woo-Hoo!
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David Rose's Orchestra ('The Stripper') got the first 3 votes right out of the chute but ended up finishing third behind the other two contestants, Henry Mancini ('Hub Caps And Tail Lights') and Herb Alpert ('Love Potion #9').
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My own vote went to the recording from Mancini's musical soundtrack for the movie 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'. I love that throaty sax, the quirky drum solos, that striptease dame's exclamation "That's all!" at the very end, and even the humorous as all get-out title, Hub Caps And Tail Lights.
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It was a tight stripper showdown but ended up looking like this...
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David Rose = 5 votes
Henry Mancini = 9 votes
Herb Alpert = 6 votes
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I had been planning this particular Battle to commemorate my 100th BOTB installment for at least 4 or 5 months. Originally, I was seriously thinking about including [link> PASTIES AND A G-STRING by the incomparable wordsmith Tom Waits. But I decided at the 11th hour to leave it out because, A) a 4-Way Battle is too time-consuming; B) I figured Tom had no realistic chance of winning; C) some of the fabulous and humorous lyrics are a little on the dirty side, and I didn't want anyone forced to listen. But I can tell you, that is a fun song to drink along with!
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Now, I'll confess, Henry Mancini had my own vote in his hip pocket all along. His musical soundtrack for 'Breakfast At Tiffany's' is probably one of my Top Ten favorite albums of all time. Here's something I wrote about it years ago:
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Ironically, I’m not a major fan of the movie ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’, but the soundtrack is one of the most often played albums in my collection.
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Henry Mancini is a musical genius. The longest cut on this soundtrack is a mere 3:18, but the compositions swing fiercely. And although you know that each musical piece was structured, every note was scripted, the instrumentalists are so loose, jivey and jammin’ that the tracks leave the listener with the impression that most of them are six to seven minutes long and loaded with Jazz improvisation. This is pure magic and the musicianship is A-List and E-Ticket.
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It is almost criminal that the album does not name all of the musicians and singers individually. The credits simply read: “Henry Mancini and his Orchestra and Chorus”. But in my opinion, these musicians could have gone toe-to-toe and trumpet-to-trumpet with the Basie and Ellington orchestras and not surrendered an inch of ground. Listen to ‘Loose Caboose’. Had that been recorded by the great Count Basie, I think Jazz journalists would STILL be writing about it! It explodes out of the speakers and packs seven minutes of music into its three minutes and eight seconds. Play 'er LOUD!!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1JrO2l9twA
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This album contains the classic song ‘Moon River’, as well as the playfulness of the striptease number humorously titled ‘Hub Caps And Tail Lights’ and the big blow out titled ‘The Big Blow Out’. But best of all (IMO), it contains three musical pieces -- ‘Sally’s Tomato’, ‘Holly' and ‘Breakfast At Tiffany's’ -- which evoke in me a feeling which C.S. Lewis called “joy” but which I refer to as “Goldenshadow”.
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Someday I’ll throw the big [link> SAKE PARTY I’ve been talking about for decades, and when I do, you will ALL be invited. The festivities will officially open and close with ‘Mr. Yunioshi’, the fourth cut on this fantastic movie soundtrack.
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Thanks again to all who took the trouble to listen and vote. You are greatly appreciated. And I hope to see each of you here again on FEBRUARY 1st when my BOTB installment will include what I think might well be the single greatest electric guitar piece ever recorded! See ya then?
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~ Stephen T. McCarthy
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