The 240 page Sun Ra: Art On Saturn – the first comprehensive look at the sleeves created for the Saturn label – is out October 25.
Here's the scoop...
Drawn from private collections around the world, this is the first comprehensive collection of the Saturn label’s printed record covers, along with hundreds of the best hand-designed, one-of-a-kind sleeves and disc labels decorated by Sun Ra and members of his Arkestra.
Considered the foremost exponent of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra mastered a wide array of styles that spanned jazz, R&B, exotica, Afro-hybrids, electronic, big band, solo piano, orchestral, experimental, and chamber works. In his 45-year recording career, he issued an epic number of albums and he was one of the first Black musicians to own an independent label, which he named Saturn, after the planet on which he claimed to have been born. The covers of Saturn LPs, issued from 1957 to 1988, are iconic—some rolled off commercial printing presses but many were hand-crafted. These records were sold at concerts, club dates, and by mail order. As collectibles, original handmade Saturn covers sell for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars. More than just packaging for a slab of vinyl, they are works of art in their own right.
Sun Ra: Art on Saturn is the first comprehensive collection of all Saturn printed covers, along with hundreds of the best hand-designed, one-of-a-kind sleeves and disc labels, decorated by Ra himself and members of his Arkestra. Essays by Sun Ra catalog preservationist Irwin Chusid, noted Ra scholar John Corbett, and Glenn Jones, who in the 1970s signed Ra to a distribution deal that put countless homemade covers into circulation, add unique insights into the interplanetary life and work of Sun Ra and his Saturn partner Alton Abraham.
Historians have written extensively about Sun Ra and his music. This book is a tribute to the covers and to the uncredited visual artists and their rich imaginations. From the simple to the baroque to the absurd, the covers that sheathed Ra's discs reflect the tenaciousness of a genius who refused to compromise or relinquish control of his destiny.
Raymond Scott - The Jingle Workshop: Midcentury Musical Miniatures 1951-1965 is available from Modern Harmonic as a 2LP or 2CD set.
For over a decade (1951–1965) Raymond Scott earned a solid living composing, arranging, and recording catchy ditties for Revlon, Delta Airlines, Stuckey's, Alka-Seltzer, Sprite, Ford, and other sponsors. The JINGLE WORKSHOP includes finished spots, outtakes, rehearsals, alternates, demos, instrumental beds, studio chatter, and irresistible earworms about mid-20th century consumer goods. All were transferred from Raymond's original tapes at the Marr Archives.
Hear Dorothy Collins, Mel Tormé, and dozens of unnamed session vocalists and musicians serenade you about beer, ice cream, gasoline, cigarettes, more beer, bread, shampoo, cars, mouthwash, and MORE BEER. The styles range from cool jazz to percolating Latin, from lush orchestrations to piano & voice; the arrangements feature soloists, vocal duets, and group harmony. There's even some stray electronic works discovered after the release of the all-electronic compilation Manhattan Research Inc. Cover art by Javier Garcia, and liner notes by Gary Stockdale. Now available from Modern Harmonic on 2LP or 2CD.
Check out Raymond Scott's catchy commercials for Tareyton cigs, Hamm's Beer and Stuckey's convenience stores and Ex-Lax below followed by the complete track listing.
Raymond Scott – The Jingle Workshop: Midcentury Musical Miniatures 1951-1965
DISC 1: 1. “When You Bake With Gold Medal Flour [Demo]” 2. “The Taste Is Great (Tareyton Cigarettes)” 3. “When You Shop At A Food Town Store [Vocal]” 4. “Move Up To Schlitz” 5. “It’s Compatible (RCA Victor TV)” 6. “Male/Female Scott Family Napkins Themes [Instrumental] 7. Road-Tuned Wheels (Mercury)” 8. “It Outsells Because It Excels (Duquesne Beer)” 9. “Hangover Dirt (Instant Fels Naptha)” 10. “Think Of A Carpet (Masland Carpets) [Instrumental]” 11. “Stop At The Esso Sign [Rehearsal 1]” 12. “S-W-E-L (Swel Frosting)” 13. “Song Of The Milk Bottle Moppets (Glass Container Institute)” 14. “So Good, So Fresh, So Southern (Mel Tormé) (Southern Bread)” 15. “The Tingling Tartness Of Sprite [Instrumental]” 16. “Use Vicks Medicated Cough Drops [Electronic Version]” 17. “Stuckey’s Theme [Vocal]“ 18. “DX Super Boron (Sunray DX Oil Co.) [Demo]” 19. “Vibes & Marimba [Instrumental]” 20. “Miller Beer Theme [Instrumental Rehearsal]” 21. “Uptempo Theme With Vibes [Instrumental]” 22. “The Big M (Mercury)” 23. “Be Happy, Go Lucky (Lucky Strike)” 24. “There’s A Tingle In The Taste (Fitger’s Beer)” 25. “Way Ahead In Flavor / Almost Like Magic (My-T-Fine Pudding)” 26. “Scott Family Napkins Guidance Tracks” 27. “Melonball Bounce (Sprite) [Instrumental]” 28. “Go Greyhound - Leave The Driving To Us” 29. “Today’s Best Buy (Plymouth) [Demo]” 30. “Who Took The Beer? (Hamm’s Beer)” 31. “The Fashion To Be Fashionable (Ford Galaxie)” 32. “Dirty Carburetor #1 & #2 (Atlantic Imperial)” 33. “Bottled Soft Drinks Serenade (Glass Container Institute)” 34. “All-Purpose Breeze [Demo]” 35. “The Only Candy Bar (Fifth Avenue)” 36. “Better Get Some More Beer (Mel Tormé) (Hamm’s Beer)” 37. “Nothing Works Like Listerine” 38. “Let’s Have a Sackful Of Krystals (Krystal Hamburgers)” 39. “Ex-Lax Helps You [Demo]”
DISC 2: 1. “Lady Gaylord (Ideal Toys) [Alternate Instrumental]” 2. “Lilt Home Permanent (Procter & Gamble) [Demo]” 3. “Think Of A Carpet (Masland Carpets) [Vocal]” 4. “Seven-Minute Fluffy (Swel Frosting)” 5. “Super Cheer Detergent (Procter & Gamble)” 6. “Look For That Hotpoint Difference” 7. “Let’s Have A Sackful Of Krystals (Krystal Hamburgers) [Instrumental]” 8. “The Tingling Tartness Of Sprite [Vocal]” 9. “Good News–Here’s Hamm’s Beer” 10. “What’s New, Bokoo? / An Unusual Name” 11. “Buy A Carton Of Lucky Strike” 12. “Right Car, Right Price (Chrysler)” 13. “Wave Your Hair With Hudnut Care (Richard Hudnut)” 14. “It’s The Ice-Creamiest (Russell’s Ice Cream)” 15. “Stuckey’s Theme [Instrumental]” 16. “WQXI Bumper Montage” 17. “Use Vicks Medicated Cough Drops” 18. “Delicate Theme [Instrumental]” 19. “Use Trushay” 20. “Tingle In The Taste (Fitger’s Beer) [Duet]” 21. “The Big Change (RCA Victor TV)” 22. “Use New Instant Autocrat (Autocrat Coffee)” 23. “Hamm’s Beer Theme [Instrumental]” 24. “Trushay Theme 1 [Instrumental]” 25. “DX Super Boron (Sunray DX Oil Co.) [Instrumental]” 26. “Melonball Bounce (Sprite) [Vocal]” 27. “Stop At The Esso Sign [Rehearsal 2]” 28. “Watch The Vibrations Of A Tuning Fork (Bulova Accutron)” 29. “Breeze Along With Ease” 30. “Have A Duke (Duquesne Beer)” 31. “RCA Victor High Fidelity Theme” 32. “RFK, Liz & Dick, Nudity In Movies (Look Magazine)” 33. “When You Shop At A Food Town Store [Instrumental]” 34. “Good News–Here’s Hamm’s Beer (Mel Tormé)” 35. “Best Looking Buys In Each Size (Mercury)” 36. “New Sensations In Sound (RCA Victor TV)” 37. “Make Him A Legend In His Own Time (British Sterling)” 38. “Living Curl / They Did It! (Revlon Hair Spray)” 39. “Lady Gaylord (Ideal Toys) [Trumpet Effects Instrumental]” 40. “Keep On The Go With Atlantic (Atlantic Imperial)” 41. “Look At That Sunbeam Bread! [Demo]” 42. “Tart And Tingling [French Version]” 43. “Trushay Theme 2 [Instrumental]”
Since Fantagraphics' 2004 publication of The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora,
the once-forgotten illustrator has gained recognition as one of the
foremost pioneers of a raucous, cartoonish style of commercial art that
defines the Mid-Century aesthetic. Two follow-up volumes, The Curiously Sinister Art... (2007) and The Sweetly Diabolic Art...
(2009), captured Jim Flora's largely unseen fine art works, spotlighting a
variety of themes such as architecture, cats and dogs, science, cars,
trains — and the occasional swerve toward gratuitous violence.
But one of Flora's sustaining loves was music. His record sleeve art for the Columbia label in the 40s and RCA Victor during the 50s, in which legendary musicians were
routinely afflicted with mutant skin tints and bonus limbs, are
considered classics of outlandish post-Cubist caricature. During this
period Flora also produced an enormous amount of promotional ephemera,
including new release monthlies, trade booklets, ads, and point-of-sale
novelties.
The now out-of-print Mischievous Art featured Flora’s known
album covers. At the time, no complete discography of Flora's work existed. Since that book’s
publication, more covers have been found, as well as rough drafts and
unused designs. So Flora co-archivists/authors Irwin Chusid and Barbara
Economon have compiled a complete collection of Flora covers (including
recent discoveries) and unpublished sketches in one volume, augmented by
music images not included in previous volumes. The High Fidelity Art of Jim Flora is the definitive anthology of the maestro's visual compositions, reflecting jazz, classical, and Latin music.
Regarding his jam-packed canvases Flora once said he "couldn't stand a
static space." There’s nothing static about the images in The High Fidelity Art:
they wail, dance, bounce, and swing from the chandeliers. Flora had a
knack for grooving with a paintbrush, making art to which you can tap
your toes and snap your fingers.
