Blackjack
One Too Many
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Posted today at the CHFB forum and Jazz review magazine
Spirits swing and skeletons roll the bones inside a haunted speakeasy -- and you get a table near the dance floor when you pick up Swingin' at the Seance, the latest from the those hepcats what dish out the heebie-jeebies, The Moon-Rays.
Take a closer look at the clientel. The gangsters have strange holes in their suits, the b-girls have an unearthly pallor and the mark at the roulette wheel is strangely transparent. That's the imagery the boys from Chi-town conjure up with vocals so authentic in their tonality, timbre and phrasing that the only clue this is a modern recording is the stellar sound quality of today's audio technology that reveals each note -- from the big beat of the floor tom to the shuddery nuance of a djangley acoustic -- with crystal ball clarity.
You Got Me Voodoo'd
The disk opens up with big guns as skins shatter the silence like a tommy gun opening up on a fearful Chicago night. Horns herald the Louis Armstrong swing-style rave-up You Got Me Voodoo'd. Vocalist Vince Clark does Armstrong proud but gives the song his own punctuation. The voice is big on personality with the vintage chops to pull this off. Clark hands the baton to a baritone sax and then a tenor horn swings the vocal line to the finish. It doesn't get better than this.
Mr. Ghost Goes to Town
A scream pierces the night (a good scream, too!), introducing a jaunty brass instro originally performed by Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. Mr. Ghost is dressed to the nines and steppin' out in fine form. Another scream and a clarinet flits like a happy bat in counterpoint above the rhythmic melody. This one stays in your belfry; I find myself whistling it a lot.
The Headless Horseman
What makes The Moon-Rays The Moon-Rays is the element of surprise. The element of surprise in this high energy vocal number is a sizzling rock guitar solo that fits beautifully with precision into the vintage arrangement at just the right volume. Kudos to the engineer because this could have been an easy one to muff. Clark, who's vocal stylings are perfect for this song, is a better fit than original crooner Bing Crosby. Clark swings the microphone while the band has fun with shout-outs in this song about a midnight jamboree populated by a variety of ghosts and banshees. You'll lose your head over this one.
Nightmare
If you ever wondered if spooky can be sexy, you get your answer with this superlative, sepulchral arrangement of the Artie Shaw theme. I'm tellin' you right now, Jake, this it the best version of Nightmare ever recorded. Sorry Artie. Just that added touch of theremin (there's that element of surprise again) and the ethereal quality of the vibraphone send a trill up and down your spine. Play this one on a hot, summer night with the windows open and I guarantee a visit from Vampira. I love this arrangement.
Jack You're Dead
It's uptempo time again! Moon-Ray sax artist Andy Blanco handles the vocals with just the right attitude. Though once a Louis Jourdan number, Blanco channels Louis Prima with all the verve and energy that implies. If this one doesn't get your foot-bone tapping, Jack, you're dead!
Swingin' at the Seance
Canary Theresa (Dixie) Villec lends class and playfulness and an undercurrent of sultriness to Swingin' at the Seance, the signature track of the CD album. A big, lush sounding intro with a quavering, high pitched theremin note sustained over the top opens this Glenn Miller number. Lots of razzmatazz and The Moon-Rays capture the sound of a full size big band orchestra. Dixie Villec has the kind of voice you could pour over a stack of flapjacks. I'd listen to her read stock indexes. Fortunately for us, the lyrics have pep and lots of clever spook references.
Mysterioso
Anchored by an ostinato bassline that walks by the cemetery gates, this slinky R&B mood piece evokes wet city streets and deep shadows. Horns meander over the slow stride piano bass notes while an electrified jazz guitar stumbles over a body in a dark alley. This number gets under my skin and as far as I'm concerned it can stay there as long as it likes. Originally recorded by Artie Shaw and the Grammercy Five, this number back from the grave never sounded so good.
Skeletons in the Closet
The problem with this world is that people spend way too much time keeping their skeletons in the closet instead of lettin' 'em out for some real fun. This jazzy, osseous shake-down once recorded by Armstrong and Dorsey now features Vince Clark out front. The way he stretches out the word "bones" is the kind of unchecked enthusiasm fans of The Moon-Rays have learned to appreciate. Killer Clarinet Slays Audience, say the headlines.
The Spooks Jump in
Bold and brassy with some excellent gymnastics over the ivories characterize this tight arrangement that evolves into a free-for-all complete with scat singing. Possibly the most complex melody line of all the instros on the album, it serves as a showcase for the bandmates' individual talents. Pounding percussion, soaring horns, solid piano -- it's all here in a high energy jazz rearrangement of a Moon-Rays original.
Shuffle of the Damned
Slippery instrumental that creeps catlike and then builds into a climactic showcase as first tenor sax and then all the horns howl at the moon. Just as smooth as silk, I'll be damned if this Moon-rays original isn't a good as their interpretations of the work of others.
Creepy Charlie
Straight from the hot club of France comes Creepy Charlie, a Django inspired piece of frenetic guitar work. Backing rhythms emphasize beats 1 and 3 for that authentic Euro flavor. Charlie is not only creepy but maybe a little insane and awfully tasteful. Nice clarinet break. This track is a refreshing change of pace that segues into the final track.
Haunted House Blues
Sounding like a lost soul pining for her man, Theresa Villec reinterprets J.C. Johnson's Haunted House Blues, originally recorded by Bessie Smith in 1923. An ill- wind ushers in some spooky vibraphone tones backed by acoustic guitar as traps provide a basic blues rhythm with just the right amount of low-down. Dixie Villec's voice is slightly processed to give it a distant quality that wonderfully transforms the original intent of the composer into something decidely more supernatural. The dirty and primal blues solo on guitar mirrors a similar feel of distance that unifies the track, leaving the listener with a feeling of unease, the perfect note to cap this album.
Final Notes
Packaging is awfully swell with a built-in booklet including complete credits and an essay by Scott Mensching (specterman in the CHFB) writing about the inspiration for Swingin' at the Seance. Cool spook graphics by Wendy Amdahl lurk inside and The Moon-rays haunt Stickney Mansion, the stomping grounds for spiritualists in Bull valley, Illinois. There is even a gypsy fortune teller game that you can scan (it would be criminal to cut out the game from the booklet) and assemble.
Who'd a thunk it? At least two highly collectible compilations of eerie vintage R&B, jazz and swing tracks have been released on CD in the past, but no one -- NO ONE -- thought of arranging and recording the better numbers using today's technology. Not until The Moon-Rays had the epiphany to do just that and see the project to completion. As a complete album, this might be The Moon-Rays' best effort yet an' that's saying a lot since their previous releases have been not only good monster kid music, but good music period. This is a different Moon-Rays than we've heard before. Their previous releases rock and groove. This one swings. But the one thing no one should be surpised at by now is that The Moon-Rays are full of surprises. Ignore this CD at your own musical peril.
Spirits swing and skeletons roll the bones inside a haunted speakeasy -- and you get a table near the dance floor when you pick up Swingin' at the Seance, the latest from the those hepcats what dish out the heebie-jeebies, The Moon-Rays.
Take a closer look at the clientel. The gangsters have strange holes in their suits, the b-girls have an unearthly pallor and the mark at the roulette wheel is strangely transparent. That's the imagery the boys from Chi-town conjure up with vocals so authentic in their tonality, timbre and phrasing that the only clue this is a modern recording is the stellar sound quality of today's audio technology that reveals each note -- from the big beat of the floor tom to the shuddery nuance of a djangley acoustic -- with crystal ball clarity.
You Got Me Voodoo'd
The disk opens up with big guns as skins shatter the silence like a tommy gun opening up on a fearful Chicago night. Horns herald the Louis Armstrong swing-style rave-up You Got Me Voodoo'd. Vocalist Vince Clark does Armstrong proud but gives the song his own punctuation. The voice is big on personality with the vintage chops to pull this off. Clark hands the baton to a baritone sax and then a tenor horn swings the vocal line to the finish. It doesn't get better than this.
Mr. Ghost Goes to Town
A scream pierces the night (a good scream, too!), introducing a jaunty brass instro originally performed by Tommy Dorsey's orchestra. Mr. Ghost is dressed to the nines and steppin' out in fine form. Another scream and a clarinet flits like a happy bat in counterpoint above the rhythmic melody. This one stays in your belfry; I find myself whistling it a lot.
The Headless Horseman
What makes The Moon-Rays The Moon-Rays is the element of surprise. The element of surprise in this high energy vocal number is a sizzling rock guitar solo that fits beautifully with precision into the vintage arrangement at just the right volume. Kudos to the engineer because this could have been an easy one to muff. Clark, who's vocal stylings are perfect for this song, is a better fit than original crooner Bing Crosby. Clark swings the microphone while the band has fun with shout-outs in this song about a midnight jamboree populated by a variety of ghosts and banshees. You'll lose your head over this one.
Nightmare
If you ever wondered if spooky can be sexy, you get your answer with this superlative, sepulchral arrangement of the Artie Shaw theme. I'm tellin' you right now, Jake, this it the best version of Nightmare ever recorded. Sorry Artie. Just that added touch of theremin (there's that element of surprise again) and the ethereal quality of the vibraphone send a trill up and down your spine. Play this one on a hot, summer night with the windows open and I guarantee a visit from Vampira. I love this arrangement.
Jack You're Dead
It's uptempo time again! Moon-Ray sax artist Andy Blanco handles the vocals with just the right attitude. Though once a Louis Jourdan number, Blanco channels Louis Prima with all the verve and energy that implies. If this one doesn't get your foot-bone tapping, Jack, you're dead!
Swingin' at the Seance
Canary Theresa (Dixie) Villec lends class and playfulness and an undercurrent of sultriness to Swingin' at the Seance, the signature track of the CD album. A big, lush sounding intro with a quavering, high pitched theremin note sustained over the top opens this Glenn Miller number. Lots of razzmatazz and The Moon-Rays capture the sound of a full size big band orchestra. Dixie Villec has the kind of voice you could pour over a stack of flapjacks. I'd listen to her read stock indexes. Fortunately for us, the lyrics have pep and lots of clever spook references.
Mysterioso
Anchored by an ostinato bassline that walks by the cemetery gates, this slinky R&B mood piece evokes wet city streets and deep shadows. Horns meander over the slow stride piano bass notes while an electrified jazz guitar stumbles over a body in a dark alley. This number gets under my skin and as far as I'm concerned it can stay there as long as it likes. Originally recorded by Artie Shaw and the Grammercy Five, this number back from the grave never sounded so good.
Skeletons in the Closet
The problem with this world is that people spend way too much time keeping their skeletons in the closet instead of lettin' 'em out for some real fun. This jazzy, osseous shake-down once recorded by Armstrong and Dorsey now features Vince Clark out front. The way he stretches out the word "bones" is the kind of unchecked enthusiasm fans of The Moon-Rays have learned to appreciate. Killer Clarinet Slays Audience, say the headlines.
The Spooks Jump in
Bold and brassy with some excellent gymnastics over the ivories characterize this tight arrangement that evolves into a free-for-all complete with scat singing. Possibly the most complex melody line of all the instros on the album, it serves as a showcase for the bandmates' individual talents. Pounding percussion, soaring horns, solid piano -- it's all here in a high energy jazz rearrangement of a Moon-Rays original.
Shuffle of the Damned
Slippery instrumental that creeps catlike and then builds into a climactic showcase as first tenor sax and then all the horns howl at the moon. Just as smooth as silk, I'll be damned if this Moon-rays original isn't a good as their interpretations of the work of others.
Creepy Charlie
Straight from the hot club of France comes Creepy Charlie, a Django inspired piece of frenetic guitar work. Backing rhythms emphasize beats 1 and 3 for that authentic Euro flavor. Charlie is not only creepy but maybe a little insane and awfully tasteful. Nice clarinet break. This track is a refreshing change of pace that segues into the final track.
Haunted House Blues
Sounding like a lost soul pining for her man, Theresa Villec reinterprets J.C. Johnson's Haunted House Blues, originally recorded by Bessie Smith in 1923. An ill- wind ushers in some spooky vibraphone tones backed by acoustic guitar as traps provide a basic blues rhythm with just the right amount of low-down. Dixie Villec's voice is slightly processed to give it a distant quality that wonderfully transforms the original intent of the composer into something decidely more supernatural. The dirty and primal blues solo on guitar mirrors a similar feel of distance that unifies the track, leaving the listener with a feeling of unease, the perfect note to cap this album.
Final Notes
Packaging is awfully swell with a built-in booklet including complete credits and an essay by Scott Mensching (specterman in the CHFB) writing about the inspiration for Swingin' at the Seance. Cool spook graphics by Wendy Amdahl lurk inside and The Moon-rays haunt Stickney Mansion, the stomping grounds for spiritualists in Bull valley, Illinois. There is even a gypsy fortune teller game that you can scan (it would be criminal to cut out the game from the booklet) and assemble.
Who'd a thunk it? At least two highly collectible compilations of eerie vintage R&B, jazz and swing tracks have been released on CD in the past, but no one -- NO ONE -- thought of arranging and recording the better numbers using today's technology. Not until The Moon-Rays had the epiphany to do just that and see the project to completion. As a complete album, this might be The Moon-Rays' best effort yet an' that's saying a lot since their previous releases have been not only good monster kid music, but good music period. This is a different Moon-Rays than we've heard before. Their previous releases rock and groove. This one swings. But the one thing no one should be surpised at by now is that The Moon-Rays are full of surprises. Ignore this CD at your own musical peril.
