Édith Piaf ~ Piaf at the Olympia & Milord

Édith Piaf   

detail from Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP

photo by Styrous®

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I started the Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. Inquire for information here.   

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This month will be the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Édith Piaf in 1915. One of her songs, Milord, was a landmark in my life at the age of 19 or 20. One of the many albums I have of hers is this concert recording that includes this song. To hear Milord while reading the rest of this, click on this link.     
 

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP cover

photo by Styrous®

Piaf at the Olympia was recorded in October, 1962 at the Olympia music hall in Paris, France, during her last concert.    

Édith Piaf

at the Olympia music hall, Paris in 1961

photograph by Roger Lipnitzki Viollet

Getty images

Olympia music hall 

photobrapher unknown

from Wikipedia

Milord, written by Georges Moustaki, is one of the songs featured on the album. I remember Milord very well as it was the first song of hers I heard. The song also marked one of the turning points in my life. It was in 1960; I was twenty years old and I was about to embark on the journey of discovery of who and what I was.

There are years in a person's life that are turning points; when things happen that will change a life forever. 1960 was one of those years for me; it was as equally profound a watershed for me as 1958 was (see link below).

I was in the bloom of my youth and I heard Milord at a restaurant/bar/cabaret in North Beach, The Paper Doll. It was located on Cadell Place just off Union Street, it was owned by Dante Benedetti, a collegiate baseball coach. I thought the food was terrific; however, I was completely unsophisticated about food at the time, so, who knows if it really was. A steak was $1.65 but my very favorite item on the menu was prawns stuffed with crab meat. Oh, my God! I would go into Ecstasy (capped E intended) when I took a bite of one. The prawns were enormous! I have never seen any as large as them since (perhaps memory has enlarged them). I kept one of the menus for decades and would fondly look it over from time to time until I had to throw it out (with tons of other stuff) when I was evicted from the studio I'd lived in for 30 years in the Mission in 2001 (during the first dot com frenzi). Another story.

I remember a Halloween party there once during which there was a contest for the best costume and drag queens vied for the crown. I was dumbfounded at the scene of men in drag; not just men in the plural, it seemed like there were hundreds. I'd never seen anything like it. I was later to discover Polk Street (way, way, WAY before the Castro). The Paper Doll closed in 1961 and I was heartbroken.

Marie Windsor entering The Paper Doll Club
movie still from "The Sniper" 1952

Milord is a 1959 song with lyrics by Georges Moustaki, music by Marguerite Monnot. It is a chanson that recounts the feelings of a lower-class "girl of the port" (perhaps a prostitute) who develops a crush on an elegantly attired, upper-class British traveller (or "milord"), whom she has seen walking the streets of the town several times (with a beautiful young woman on his arm), but who has not even noticed her. The singer feels that she is nothing more than a "shadow of the street" (ombre de la rue). 

The song was a #1-hit (biggest selling song that year) in Germany in July 1960. In UK it reached #24 (1960), in Sweden #1 during 8 weeks (15/6-1/8 1960), in Norway #6 (1959), and in the United States #88 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1961 (but I'd heard it earlier, as usual).

There have been many interpretations of the song: Milva of Germany, a Czechoslovakian version by Hana Hegerová, a Swedish one by Anita Lindblom, England's Frankie Vaughan (in which he explains to a man he refers to as Milord that the woman he loves is with someone else and he should forget her, relax, be happy and find another woman). In the US Cher, and even Bobby Darin took a shot at it in 1964, with slightly altered French lyrics, to account for the fact that Darin was a man (the original lyrics were written to be sung by a woman). In-grid sang a remix of Milord in her album La Vie en Rose released in 2004. The song was edited to have a faster speed (read disco) than the original. The Mo-dettes did an interesting post-punk cover of it in 1980 and believe it or not, even Benny Hill managed to mangle it (links to these songs on YouTube below).  

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP cover back

photo by Styrous®

An exhibition opened on April 14, 2015, at the Bibliothèque nationale de France François Mitterrand, the French National Library, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Édith Piaf (see link below). For the occasion, the BNF – hosts a special exhibition on the private life of the singer through 400 recordings, pictures, letters, lyrics, posters, personal objects and her famous little black dress.

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Capitol Records vinyl LP inner sleeve

photo by Styrous® 

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP

photo by Styrous®

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP  label, side 1 

photo by Styrous®

Piaf at the Olympia 

vinyl LP  label, side 2 

photo by Styrous®

Piaf at the Olympia was released in 1963 on Capitol Records

Tracklist:

Side One:

A1     Roulez, Tambours    
A2     Le Diable De La Bastille    
A3     Musique À Tout Va    
A4     Le Petit Brouillard    
A5     Le Droit D'Aimer    

Side Two:

B1     Le Billard Électrique    
B2     Toi, Tu L'Entends Pas    
B3     À Quoi Ça Sert L'Amour    
B4     Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien    
B5     La Foule    
B6     Milord    

Companies etc:
    Mastered At – Capitol Mastering

Credits:
    Producer [For U.s.a.] – Dave Dexter, Jr.

Recorded in France.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

    Matrix / Runout (Side A): SP1-10368-B2
    Matrix / Runout (Side B): STX-2-10368 J-8
    Other (Mastering Stamp): Mastered By Capitol



Net links:   
  
Lyrics for Milord      
Edith Piaf á la Bibliothèque nationale de France   
1958  
    

Versions of Milord on YouTube:  
 
Édith Piaf    
Piaf on the Ed Sullivan show      
Hana Hegerová
Milva   
Cher  
Bobby Darin 
In-grid
Mo-Dettes  



Styrous® ~ Wednesday, December 2, 2015  

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Vinyl LP Index
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes Archive

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Mass ~ 44th Anniversary

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

7½ ips Reel-to-Reel Tape spine detail

detail photo by Styrous®

~ ~ ~

I started the Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. Inquire for information here.   

~ ~ ~

Today is the anniversary of the premier of Mass, by Leonard Bernstein, which opened at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on September 8, 1971. As usual, there are songs from the work that are my favorite. The first time I heard the aria, A Simple Song, I was hooked! Sung by baritone Alan Titus, The Celebrant, it is among the most beautiful melodies ever written. Links to the music on YouTube at the end and link to Simple Song, so you can listen to as you continue to read, is here.

Then, there's the rollicking, wonderfully irreverent, God Said. What a totally cool (I will have to do a blog on the word, cool) song and it IS "God-Damned Good"! You can also listen to God Said as you continue to read here.   

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

7½ ips Reel-to-Reel Tape front cover 

tape cover photo by

photo of tape cover by Styrous®

MASS was commissioned by Jacqueline Kennedy for the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. It was directed by Gordon Davidson with additional texts by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Schwartz, sets by Oliver Smith, costumes by Frank Thompson, and choreography by Alvin Ailey. It was conducted by Maurice Peress.

The work's cultural importance became intertwined with its political significance in Richard Nixon's Washington. The President did not attend the opening, but did send staff to rehearsals, who reported back that there were possibly "coded messages" in the Latin text! While the work is certainly anti-war and calls on "you people of power" to do what is right, it is not overtly political. It is unquestionably religious.   

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

7½ ips Reel-to-Reel Tape back cover 

photo by Styrous®

In MASS, Bernstein looks at the issue of faith dramatically and humorously; it is subtitled "A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers." Bernstein had always been intrigued and awed by the Roman Catholic Mass, finding it (in Latin) moving, mysterious, and eminently theatrical.

Originally, Bernstein intended to compose a traditional Mass, but instead decided on a more innovative form. The work is based on the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Catholic Church.  

The piece follows the liturgy exactly, but it is juxtaposed against frequent interruptions and commentaries by the Celebrant and the congregation, much like a running debate. There is stylistic juxtaposition as well, with the Latin text heard electronically through speakers or sung by the chorus, and the interruptions sung in various popular styles including blues and rock-and-roll. On the narrative level, the hour-and-a-half-long piece relates the drama of a Celebrant whose faith is simple and pure at first, but gradually becomes unsustainable under the weight of human misery, corruption, and the trappings of his own power.

MASS is an enormous piece. It calls for a large pit orchestra, two choruses plus a boy's choir, a Broadway-sized cast (with ballet company), marching band and a rock band. It may seem ironic that such multitudes are marshaled for a work that celebrates a man's "Simple Song": his love and faith in God. But in the end, that simplicity is shown to be all the more powerful because of it.   

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

Reel-to-Reel Tape back cover detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Synopsis

In the beginning all of the performers are in harmony and agreement. During the course of the Mass, however, the street choir begins expressing doubts and suspicions about the necessity of God in their lives and the role of the Mass itself. At the play's emotional climax, the growing cacophony of the chorus' complaining finally interrupts the elevation of the Body and Blood (the consecrated bread and wine). The celebrant, in a furious rage, hurls the sacred bread, housed in an ornate cross-like monstrance, and the chalice of wine, smashing them on the floor. At this sacrilege the other cast members collapse to the ground as if dead while the Celebrant sings a solo. This solo blends the chorus's disbelief with his realization that he feels worn out and wonders where the strength of his original faith has gone. At the end of his song, he too collapses. A bird-like (Holy Spirit) flute solo begins, darting here and there from different speakers in the hall, finally "alighting" in a single clear note. An altar server, who was absent during the conflict, then sings a hymn of praise to God, "Sing God a Secret Song. This restores the faith of the three choirs, who join the altar server, one by one, in his hymn of praise. They tell the Celebrant "Pax tecum" (Peace be with you), and end with a hymn asking for God's blessing.   

The album was a two record set and the tape format was on 7½ ips tape so there are two reel-to-reel tapes in the boxed set. 

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

7½ ips Reel-to-Reel Tapes

photo by Styrous®

Cast of characters

The original cast consisted of a Celebrant, three choirs, and altar servers. A full classical orchestra performed in the pit, while onstage musicians—including a rock band and a marching band—performed and interacted onstage.

• The Celebrant – The central character of the work, a Catholic priest who conducts the celebration of the Mass.
• Formal Choir – A mixed choir (SSAATTBB) in upstage choir lofts who sing the Latin portions of the Mass.
• Boys Choir – A children's choir (SSAA) that processes on and off stage various times, performing alone, in antiphon, or in concert with the Formal Choir and the Street Singers.
• Street Singers – Downstage and often performing around the Celebrant and the stage instrumentalists, a broad group of female and male singers representing the congregation (and occasionally the musicians), who variously participate in the prayers of the Mass, or alternately counter those prayers in a modern context.
• Acolytes – Assistants to the Celebrant, who perform dances and altar assistance throughout the Mass.

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

Reel-to-Reel Tape 1

photo by Styrous®

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

Reel-to-Reel Tape 1 label detail

detail photo by Styrous®

 Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

Reel-to-Reel Tape 2

photo by Styrous®

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass

Reel-to-Reel Tape 2 label detail

detail photo by Styrous®

Tracklist:

	I. Devotions Before Mass	7:49
A1a	1. Antiphon: Kyrie Eleison
A1b	2. Hymn And Psalm: "A Simple Song"
A1c	3. Responsory: Alleluia
	II. First Introit (Rondo)	5:52
A2a	1. Prefatory Prayers
A2b	2. Thrice - Triple Canon: Dominum Vobiscum
	III. Second Introit	4:12
A3a	1. In Nomine Patris
A3b	2. Prayer For The Congregation (Chorale: "Almighty Father")
A3c	3. Epiphany
	IV. Confession	9:30
A4a	1. Confiteor
A4b	2. Trope: "I Don't Know"
A4c	3. Trope: "Easy"
B1	V. Meditation #1	5:10
	VI. Gloria	6:45
B2a	1. Gloria Tibi
B2b	2. Gloria In Excelsis
B2c	3. Trope: "Half Of The People"
B2d	4. Trope: "Thank You"
B3	VII. Meditation #2	3:56
B4	VIII. Epistle: "The Word Of The Lord"	5:56
B5	IX. Gospel-Sermon: "God Said"	5:00
	X Credo	8:35
C1a	1. Credo In Unum Deum
C1b	2. Trope: "Non Credo"
C1c	3. Trope: "Hurry"
C1d	4. Trope: "World Without End"
C1e	5. Trope: "I Believe In God"
C2	XI. Meditation #3 (De Profundis, Part 1)	2:50
C3	XII. Offertory (De Profundis, Part 2)	3:00
	XIII. The Lord's Prayer	4:22
C4a	1. "Our Father..."
C4b	2. Trope: "I Go On"
C5	XIV. Sanctus	5:15
C6	XV. Agnus Dei (Beginning)	1:45
D1	XV. Agnus Dei (Conclusion)	5:30
D2	XVI. Fraction: "Things Get Broken"	14:20
D3	XVII. Pax: Communion ("Secret Songs")	9:53

Credits

• Bass Guitar – John Beal, Juan Ramirez (5)
• Bassoon – Donald MacCourt, Vince Ellin
• Choir – The Berkshire Boys Choir, The Norman Scribner Choir
• Clarinet – Al Regnie, Merlin Petroff, Phil Bashor
• Double Bass – Joseph Willens, Mike Willens
• Drums – Henry Jaramillo, Herb Harris (2), Rick Cutler
• Flute – Claudia Anderson, Thomas Kay
• French Horn – Carl Bianchi, Carolyn Tate, Samuel Ramsey, Sharon Moe
• Guitar – James Mitchell (6), Scott Kuney
• Harp – Faith Carmin
• Keyboards – Linda Breeden, Thomas Pierson*
• Oboe – David Busch (2), Peter Bowman (2)
• Oboe [Solo] – Leonard Arner (tracks: A3c)
• Trombone – William Reichenbach*, John Swallow, Robert Biddicome, Stuart Taylor (3), Thomas Mitchell
• Trumpet – Charles Lewis (2), Emerson Head, Peter Chapman, Rolf Smedvig
• Tuba – Sam Pilafian*
• Vocals [Solo] – Adrienne Albert (tracks: A1c), Alan Titus (tracks: A1b, B2a, B4, C4a, C4b, D2), Barbara Williams (2) (tracks: D3), Benjamin Rayson (tracks: B5), Betty Allen (tracks: A1a), Carl Hall (tracks: A4b), Carole Prandis (tracks: B5), Charles Magruder (tracks: A1c), David Cryer (tracks: C1b, D3), Dominic Cassa (tracks: A1a), Ed Dixon (2) (tracks: A4c, D3), Eugene Edwards (2) (tracks: B1), Gina Penn (tracks: C1c), John D. Anthony (tracks: B5, D3), John Manno (tracks: A1c), Jonathan Gram (tracks: D3), Joy Franz (tracks: A4c, D3), Judy Gibson (tracks: B5), June Magruder (tracks: A1c), Karen Altman (tracks: A1a), Lee Hooper (tracks: B2d), Louis St. Louis (tracks: A4c), Maeretha Stewart (tracks: A1c), Margaret Cowie (tracks: D3), Marion Ramsey (tracks: A4c), Mary Bracken Phillips (tracks: C1d), Raymond DeVoll (tracks: A1a), Ronald Young (3) (tracks: A4b, B5, D3), Tom Ellis (4) (tracks: C1e), William Elliot (tracks: A1c)
• Voice [Preacher] – Larry Marshall* (tracks: B5) 
• Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein

Net Links:

       
Leonard Bernstein website         
New York Times     

Leonard Bernstein ~ Mass on YouTube      

    

A Simple Song sung by Alan Titus
God Said sung by Alan Titus   

Agnus Dei   

God Said   

Gloria in Excelsis   

Things get broken - part 1
Things get broken - part 2       
       

 The Leonard Bernstein, Mass, reel-to-reel tape will be for sale on eBay   

   

As in the last words of Mass: 
"The Mass is ended; go in peace." 

Styrous® ~ Tuesday, September 8, 2015 

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Vinyl LP Index
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes Archive

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King Crimson ~ In the Court of the Crimson King (An Observation By King Crimson)

King Crimson ~ In the Court of the Crimson King

vinyl LP cover painting by 
Barry Godber

~ ~ ~

I've started this Vinyl LP series because I have a collection of over 20,000 vinyl record albums I am selling; each blog entry is about an album from my collection. Inquire for information here.   

~ ~ ~

photos by Styrous®

(click on any image for slideshow)

King Crimson ~ In the Court of the Crimson King
back cover painting by Barry Godber
vinyl LP cover

King Crimson ~ In the Court of the Crimson King
 cover painting by Barry Godber
vinyl LP gatefold cover

King Crimson ~ In the Court of the Crimson King
 cover painting by Barry Godber
vinyl LP gatefold interior

side 1:

side 2:

Tracklist: 

Side 1:   

1 - 21st Century Schizoid Man including Mirrors
                         - written by Lake*, McDonald*, Giles*, Sinfield*, Fripp* - 7:21

2 - I Talk To The Wind
                         - written by McDonald*, Sinfield* - 6:08

3 - Epitaph including March For No Reason and Tomorrow And Tomorrow
                         - written by Lake*, McDonald*, Giles*, Sinfield*, Fripp* - 8:52

Side 2:

1 - Moonchild including The Dream and The Illusion
                         - written by Lake*, McDonald*, Giles*, Sinfield*, Fripp* - 12:15

2 - The Court Of The Crimson King including The Return Of The Fire Witch and The Dance Of The Puppets
                         - written by McDonald*, Sinfield* - 9:25  

Companies etc.

• Recorded At – Wessex Sound Studios
• Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute
• Mastered At – Atlantic Studios
• Manufactured By – Atlantic Recording Corporation
• Published By – TRO-Total Music, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – E.G. Music Ltd.
• Copyright (c) – Atlantic Recording Corporation

Credits:

• Bass, Lead Vocals – Greg Lake
• Cover – Barry Godber
• Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Michael Giles
• Engineer – Robin Thompson
• Engineer [Assistant] – Tony Page
• Guitar – Robert Fripp
• Keyboards, Mellotron, Woodwind, Vibraphone, Reeds, Vocals – Ian McDonald
• Producer – King Crimson
• Words By, Other [Illumination] – Peter Sinfield

Notes:

Terre Haute pressing with CTH suffix in matrix.

Textured gatefold sleeve.

Barcode and Other Identifiers:

• Matrix / Runout (A Side Label): ST-A-691699CTH
• Matrix / Runout (B Side Label): ST-A-691700CTH
• Matrix / Runout (A Side Etch): S T A691699-1B 1 CTH T
• Matrix / Runout (B Side Etch): S T A691700-1B 1 CTH T

King Crimson ‎– In The Court Of The Crimson King An Observation By King Crimson
Label: Atlantic ‎– SD 8245
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: US
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Prog Rock

Links on the Net:
   
Pure and Easy Ode to Barry Godver           
The Dork Report       
Artists UK Great album art and strange stories  

                   

        Songs on YouTube:
     
21st Century Schizoid Man 
I Talk To The Wind    
Epitaph          
Moonchild       
The Court Of The Crimson King     

Styrous® ~ Monday, July 20, 2015

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Vinyl LP Index
101 Reel-to-Reel Tapes Archive

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