Our Southern Sojourn

As may have been detected in prior posts I am constantly complaining about the state of opshopping in Sydney of late.. even trips out of the inner west and north have lately had slim pickings, and I'm constantly reminded of the Glory Days before the present, always on the lookout for a chance discovery that harkens back to them days.
Heading south to visit my father usually involves a quick scrum around his local area under the Dandenongs and in the past has been fruitful, even when space travelling has been premium.
This trip time was short and it wasn't till the 2nd day that gold was struck..

Aussie Veterans - Boronia, Vic.

Aussie Veterans Opportunity Shop just had that look to it as we pulled up out front and I subjected my dad to waiting out an intensive check of a large range of black vinyl that were all for that almost forgotten figure of a $1 each. After 3 full shelves inspected, half a dozen purchases under the belt and then, as a sidestep to the usual items for this blog, I came across what has to be my best boot (not car boot) buy for many a year.. and for a grand (almost makes me weep) price of $3!!

Decent leather tieups

A quick jump up the suburb to the Salvos procured a neat Western Film Theme and an English Folk Dances platter, although a shift in economy now forced the payment of $2 each.. indeed..

a Melbourne assortment

Maori Songs of Enchantment - St Joseph's Maori Girl's College Choir - Viking - date unknown

Big Western Film Themes - Film 77 Orchestra & Strings - International Artists - date unknown

English Folk Dances - McBains Country Dance Band et al - EMI Records - 1974

Hey! Hey! It's Daryl & Ossie - Daryl Somers + Ernie Carrol - Hammard - 1975

My Own ABC Record - Ernest Burden - Axis - 1972

Sweet Sounds of the South Pacific - St Joseph's Maori Girl's Choir - Viking - date unknown

The Warriors - Original Soundtrack - A&M - 1979

And for Beth I also picked up a Best of John Prine (Atlantic, 1976), Mr Prine being one of her favourite recording artists in a country vein..

Going Walkabout

As we head into Australia Day long weekend, which sees Kaspar and I making tracks down to Melbourne, I thought a look at some discs from the past that made us aware where exactly in the world we stood and how we got here, and what awaited us when we arrived..
Staying with my father in the outskirts of Melbourne usually uncovers some treasure from the local ops, and am hoping that in the very least to expand Kaspar's ever increasing Hot Wheels box..
This collection also contains one of my favourite spins - Rod Roger's 'Island Songs of The Great Barrier Reef' - Hayman Island never sounded so good...

The Australian - Bob King Crawford - RCA Victor - date unknown

Souvenir of Australia - John Clements - HMV - date unkown

Beneath the Southern Cross - Wayne Senior et al - World Record Club - post 1964

Beneath the Southern Cross - Wayne Senior et al - HMV - post 1964

This Australia - Leonard Teale et al - CBS - date unknown

Songs and Sounds of Australia - Dennis Gibbons et al - W & G - 1973?

Corroboree - John Antill & Grand Canyon Suite - Ferde Grofe

World Record Club - date unknown

Wombat Track - Mary Sunders & Drew Daniell - W & G - date unknown

Walkabout - Lionel Long - Columbia - date unknown

Sign On with Captain Cook - Kenneth Neville - Music For Pleasure - date unknown

January the Twentysixth - Bob Young - Bank of NSW - post 1967

All Abound for SydneyTown - Captain Crabbe and the Garden Gnomes

Bunyip - date unknown

Bolters, Bushrangers & Duffers - Gary Shearston - CBS - date unknown

The Bold Bushrangers - Lionel Long - Columbia - date unknown

The Highwayman - Edmond Samuels - Columbia - date unknown

The Young Camp Stockman - Buster Noble - M7 Records - date unknown

Around The Boree Log Vol. 2 - Kevin Brennan - Festival - date unknown

Australian Folk Songs - Burl Ives - Summit - date unknown

Australia And All That Jazz - John Sangster - post 1970

Water Dwellers - John Robertson - RCA Victor - date unknown

Islands of The Great Barrier Reef - Rod Rogers with The Tropic Island Serenaders

W & G - date unknown

Paradise Volume One - John Sangster - Trinity - 1977

Let's finish with an occasional visitor to these shores on her first visit..

Royal Progress - Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II & husband

Radiola Records - 1954

My First Exotic

People who see my Black Plastic Horde often ask "What was the first record you got that started you collecting all this junk?"
Well, first off I would correct their limited opinion on what is Quality that surrounds them, and then point to this particular platter that was purchased during a hiatus to the Mountains of Blue (Springwood) during the heady years of 1984>5.
It was really an open slather of opshop and secondhand store bonanza in those past times, and many records, books, toys and 'junk' gathered from those days hold special memory to me. To find many of those objects and similar d'jour can be near impossible today unless one is willing to pay high bloodmoney across a counter.
We all live in hope....

How could I not be tempted...

East Of Suez - 101 Strings - Pye Golden Guinea - date unkown

Boiling Point of Plastic

It's pushing towards 50 degrees and I'm wondering how all the plastic squeakies in the roof are handling the heat...

Squeaks in happier times when they were out of the plastic bags and given street viewing

Ports of Pleasure

Although not my first exotic acquisition Les Baxter's so titled printed square opened the doors of perception that extended the world musical boundaries beyond what was available in the Rock A>Z categories.
Following is a quicky tour around the world as we knew it then (or at least to the late 60's), starting with Sir Les and finishing with Roger's Wide Wonderful World vision..

Ports of Pleasure - Les Baxter - Capital - 1957

African Jazz - Les Baxter - Capital - unknown date

Ritual of the Savage - Les Baxter - Capital - date unknown

Strings, Guitars, Voices! - Les Baxter - Pickwick/33 - after 1960

Ports of Paradise - Alfred Newman & Ken Darby - Capital - 1960

Tour of the World - Les Petits Chanteurs A' La Croix De Bois

Parlophone - 1957

Many Moods of Arthur Lyman - Arthur Lyman - Hifirecords - date unknown

Taboo - Arthur Lyman - Hifirecords - date unknown

Taboo Vol. 2 - Arthur Lyman - Hifirecords - date unknown

Bwana a - Arthur Lyman - Hifirecords - date unknown

South Pacific - Johnny Douglas Orchestra

- World Record Light Music - date unknown

South Pacific - Marc La Salle Orchestra 

- Astor - date unknown

Far Away Places - Enoch Light Orchestra - Command - 1961

Far Away Places Volume 2 - Enoch Light Orchestra

 Command -  after 1961

Tropicana - Hugo Blanco - Karussell - date unknown

Stereo Spectacular!! - Milt Rogers Orchestra - Calendar - date unknown

It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World - Roger Williams 

London Records - date unknown

Working along the same musical vein I also include this gaggle of National Anthems...

National Anthems of the World Volume 1 - Michael Reynolds 

Major records - date unknown

National Anthems and Their Stories - DickWhittinghill & Camarata

Disneyland - 1965

Sample of interior art and Australian page

...and while I'm at it I'll also include these last two 101 Strings Quad Spectrum Sound Series releases

101 Strings - Astor- date unknown

Les Baxter & 101 Strings - Astor - date unknown

This brings us back to Les Baxter after our journey around the world at many exotic ports of call. Soon I'll be posting more of Les, as he and his Orc fit into other collections waiting to be recorded..