Flash Gordon Soundtrack 1980

Science Fiction before CGI.  Comic Book movie before that was a thing.  Queen before Highlander.  Sam Jones before... well, Ted?

People hate on Flash Gordon so much it just isn't right.  Amidst its over the top style, there is much to savor.  Top-most of these being the greatness that is the original soundtrack by Queen.  Remember now, this is Queen before they were completely watered down by the pop-focused whirlpool of the 80's.  At this point, Queen was still straddling the greasy, hot line between experimental pop and excellent British heavy rock.

VVer #1 has listened to this soundtrack so often it's practically in his DNA.  For years, this was his only Queen LP.  Why?  Containing story elements of classic sci-fi, with the high-octane glaminess from Freddie/Brian/John/Roger, it plays like a concept album.  Instead of just a straight review, it seemed logical, as it is truly a part of the film, to review the album in the context of the film itself.  Here it goes:

HOT HAIL!!! METEOR STORM!!! TORNADO!!! EARTHQUAKE!!! VOLCANIC ERUPTION!!!

Ming's evil laugh morphs into the iconic kickdrum/piano opening salvo.  The graphics of the opening credit sequence, comprised totally of imagery from the original comic strip, are perfectly timed to the Flash theme song.  This theme has all the Queen elements you love: four part harmonizing, nasty interstellar guitar leads, a driving rhythm section, and just the right heaping helping of pop.  After this mega-opening (FLASH!  AAAAHHHHHH, HE'LL SAVE EVERY ONE OF US!!!), is a long gap of plot and character introductions before we get into any more Queen.  It actually times out perfectly, lulling you to nearly forget that the world's greatest rock band is waiting in the wings.  When "pathetic earthlings," Flash, Dale Arden, and Dr. Hans Zarkov, launch into the psychedelic "Imperial Vortex" you find yourself immersed in droning, mystical, new-age soundscapes soon to be accompanied by entrancing drums.  Note all the laser beam and magnetic force field sounds--yes--done by Queen.

Into the throne room for some antics and a proper introduction to Ming, "Hail Ming Hail, Ruler of the Universe!  Hail Ming Hail, Emperor of the Galaxy!"  His theme music is ... truly evil.  It's a cross between a slow motion chainsaw riff and a therimin, distorted with a wahwah petal.  Even when Ming uses his magic ring to make Dale go all sexy/weird it's the same theme, just solo, slinky synth.  You only get a moment to digest this when Flash turns all Johnny football and tries to fight his way out, and in rocks Queen with a corny, upbeat, synth-funk jam.  Crashing drums and over the top guitar leads make your hair stand up straight.  Next, a goofy one-liner, "Are your men on the right pills?" and in crashes Brian May with some tasty licks that even get a little heavy for a hot second, but only a second, and then Flash gets knocked out cold... cue evil therimin.  The fight scene is entirely silly and is most likely just an excuse to have this massive jam.

It's worth noting the abundance of orchestral flourishes throughout the film.  Apparently these were arranged by somebody named Howard Blake.  You would never know this from watching the film, as his name barely exists in the credits.  Well, he does a fine assist for Queen who wrote everything you hear.  Together they create just the right amount of ambiance, embouyance, and umbeyonce (all three are right depending on context).  There are moments where you'll be saying "that's not Queen!" especially the (spoiler alert!) "death sequence," but you'll also be thinking "this is awesome."  How about some excellent, brooding, gothic orchestration which leads into a new-age, guitar-led, stoner flautist moment?  Cue the brass section and scene!  Super high drama, courtesy of Mr. Blake.

"Who's voice is that, Freddie Mercury?" asks VVer #1.  (Spoiler alert!)  Flash comes back to life to the sound of some sort of angelic oohing and ahhing.  That's just one you'll have to hear for yourself.  It's weird.

Here again we wait for quite a while as the earthlings begin to make their way towards a plan to stop Ming.  "Nothing can save me now," says Dale, tears streaming from her eyes.  That mesmerizing drum cadence returns for a solid five minutes of exposition.  In roars the entire drum set all at once (drummer Roger Taylor really sets the bar high on this LP) and into the galloping synths (nobody's playing synths like that anymore)!  It's high octane fun but what really kicks it up a few notches is the insane drum breakdown (sounds just like a speed bag in the gym) that unleashes May's absolute crushingness.  Add in laser beams everywhere!  Let's just say that the fight scene on Ajax battlecruiser is what Queen was born to write music for.  "Impetuous boy!"  When Queen brings it during the action sequences, wearing an adult diaper is highly recommended.  "Ah well, who wants to live forever!?!"

"I think all movie fight scenes should have Queen backing them."  Sage wisdom from VVer #2.

Consider for a moment other movies with soundtracks and scores composed by one band or musician.  There aren't many.  Not like this.  Much less comic book, action films by rock bands.  Shaft, from nine years prior, is really the only soundtrack on this scale that comes to mind.  Isaac Hayes pumps out the entire funky score along with the soundtrack.  No others touch this achievement.  Some folks come close, but no banana:  Superfly by Curtis Mayfield and Trouble Man by Marvin Gaye are in that alley, but don't really hold together as well; Magical Mystery Tour by and starring the Beatles could count, but is the movie any good?; Dead Man is mostly just Neil Young making improvisational feedback on a guitar, not up to scale; Ghost Dog from 1999 features mostly original music by RZA, but not exclusively.  Queen really is the first (and only) band to do a complete rock score on this level of mainstream film and for such a colorful one at that.  It's unparalleled.

Back to the record for a second (lest you forget, dear reader, this is a vinyl project), which is a near-perfect album (twelve stars out of five!).  It has amazing songs and a good portion of the orchestral score (apparently there is an entire other album out there of just Mr. Blake’s score). To boot it’s got loads of interspersed dialogue and sound effects.  When you listen to it end-to-end, it's just like getting the condensed version the film which, frankly, unless you're seeing it on the big screen, is just about the best way to experience Flash Gordon (but definitely see the movie first).

Ming takes his final bow while the band makes as much noise as possible... "FLASH!!!"
Final credits reprise the Ajax battle scene and knock what's left of your teeth out.  There's even lyrics now and more laser beams!

P.S.  The VVers used the Flash Gordon version of Wagner's wedding march for their actual wedding... and it was absolutely the right thing to do.

Close But ... Not Even Close

Trying to complete a run of albums by a particular artist is a truly daunting endeavor.  You have to ask yourself a few questions before embarking on such a hazardous quest.  Is the artist still active?  Were albums ever released during a time when vinyl was scarce (early 90s to mid 2000s)?  Did the artist ever "jump the shark" and make music that stank mightily?  Some items to ponder while hunting for those final vinyl vagabonds.

Consider also that completing a collection by an artist can very easily dilute your listening experience.  Every artist has laid at least one egg in their career.  Remember that one?  You know the one.  Why add that mediocre fare to your collection?  As well, storage is most certainly an issue.  How important is it for you to make room for that last LP that you'll never listen to?  Be honest with yourself.

In favor of being a completest?  The concept of listening to an artist's entire catalog has its merits.  Experienced end-to-end it can be quite compelling; even listened to out of order you will gain amazing perspective on their career.  Unless they sober up.  Those albums are usually pretty bad.  Sorry, but it's true.  As well, artists can also get a little off-the-rails with the non-sobriety.  Watch out for those also.  Regardless of the reasons, you are bound to find peaks and valleys in even the most heralded musician's discography.

Where did they record the album?  Was it done on the cheap?  Who produced it and how quickly?  Was there a major label bigwig pressuring the them to do something novel or something they didn't want to do?  How about the final product?  Did the studio chiefs chop it to bits and shoehorn it into a pop-tacular package?  That final product might be arriving at your inner ear after a long, strange trip.  Don't worry, the Vinyl Vagabonds are here to help.

Several examples:

Faith No More - Completing the run of albums by FNM is an interesting idea, but actually getting most of the LPs will make a considerable dent in your wallet.  Each could easily set you back $30 and good luck finding an original pressing!  Why do it?  A back-to-back album listening session lets you hear how the band changed so dramatically along their career--mind blowing!  Totally different lead singer?  Yes.  Totally different sounding same singer?  Yes.  Complete change of guitar sound?  Yes.  Complete change of guitarists?  Yes.  The very first album, We Care A Lot from 1985, sounds as if it was recorded in the Stone Age compared to records from the 90s onward.  That's not a gripe, as the album is crushingly great, warts and all.  The very definition of completion is that if you love a band then the back catalog is must-listen material, no matter who plays on the album.

Kurtis Blow - For the VVers to finally complete this run was painfully difficult because Mr. Blow seriously ran out of creative juice along the way.  The purchase of his last album was something they put off for several years.  One VVer would see it in a store and tap the other on the shoulder, "Are we getting it?"  "I'm scared..."  "Me too."  Why they finally broke down is anybody's guess.  Still, it was an accomplishment and the VVers are willing to own being KB's #1 fans (even though they never listen to Back by Popular Demand--there was no popular demand Mr. Blow, none).

Peter Tosh - All studio albums plus one live album live on the VVer's shelf, spanning 1976's Legalize It to 1987's No Nuclear War.  Of course not all of these are created equal (Equal Rights being the superior, Wanted Dread and Alive, consider the title and draw your own conclusions), but there hasn't been a huge rush to break up the collection.  Still, the VVers should have probably quit while they were ahead.

DEVO - Haha, there are two later records that seem... not interesting.  Why hold off when those are fairly inexpensive and not too hard to come by?  The completest would buy them, but a crappy album can, and should, be avoided.  The VVers are trusting their instincts here.

Talking Heads - The VVers keep avoiding "Ape Face" album, also known as Naked.  All seven other records are accounted for, but not this one.  It could very well be the greatest LP of all, but something about that cover is just creepy.

The Clash - Although only six studio albums, the complete Clash discography will actually set you back some shelf space, Sandinista! is a triple and London Calling (both of which took some seeking-out and wallet-opening) is a double.  By some strange turn of events, the VVers already had the Clash's least exciting albums, Give 'Em Enough Rope and the horrifyingly dull Cut the Crap in their collection for quite some time.  Those should probably be jettisoned, especially the latter which apparently was made by the producer almost entirely without the actual band.  While the VVers were recently house cleaning and working on this here write-up, they decided to drop the needle on Cut the Crap since it has literally been years since it had seen any action.  The substantial layer of dust that needed to be cleaned off of the record proved that!  After a half-spin, the VVers decided the dust should remain so that this record doesn't get played again.  This blog is helping the VVers cut the crap, out of their collection.

Queen - Do not become a Queen completest.  Most of Queen's albums past the mid 70s are just too full of stadium/radio pop, goofy experiments, and over the top ballads.  Those albums just have way to many gaps.  The exception being the Flash Gordon Soundtrack which is mostly instrumental, just sayin'.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Five out of seven, and only the good ones.  Missing the last two, does it matter?  No.  Done.  This just wrote itself.  Actually, it does matter.  Recently the VVers, against their better judgment, got carried away and picked up Mardi Gras at a local shop, CDepot in College Park.  At the time, it was thought that this was the last album to finish the CCR run.  For a measly $3.99, why not give it a spin?  The VVers will tell you why not: they cringed through about three tracks and decided it was way too country and way not-Fogerty-vocals enough to keep it.  The sly VVers slipped it into Vagabond Apprentice's record bag as he was packing up to head back to New York.  Goodbye bad record!  Banished to another state, hopefully never to be spoke of again.  Not only was it a disappointment that the album was lametastic, but they also discovered there is still one more album to check out, Pendulum.  Pheh, no thanks.

Neil Young - The idea of getting every album by Mr. Young will kill you.  He's recorded around thirty-eight studio LPs to date.  That is not a typo.  That's more shelf space than the entire VVers jazz section.  Don't even think about including his live albums, soundtracks, compilations, or band albums--Buffalo Springfield, CSNY--impossible.  Avoiding being a completest with Neil is actually not that hard.  Some of his LPs just do not appeal.  For example, he's done several straight country albums which are never going to enter the VVers inner sanctum (living room).  He's also been on a recent tear, putting out six albums since 2000.  The modern records (post 1990s) are in no way affordable.  No way!  Now the nice part about trying to track down records from Mr. Young has been seeking out the weirdo ones from the 80s that nobody seems to love.  Many of these albums came out at a time of vinyl abundance.  Therefore, these fun finds, Landing on Water being a strange standout, are very affordable.

Completalest in Summararium (that's Latin you know)

Molto Bene (that's actually Italian):

• Get a full picture of the artist.
• Bragging rights of owning every release (this actually might not be a good thing).
• Satisfying your inner-completest-ness (curiosity).

Molto Male:

• Find yourself buying records that are not good, diminishing love for that artist (can also be funny).
• Take up precious real estate on the shelf.
• No money left for snacks.

2014 in Vinyl

Best New Vinyl

The Faint Doom Abuse
Doom Abuse is packed with ear worms galore.  It doesn't hurt that the VVers also got to see them crushing it in concert this year where they 100% delivered the goods.  No small potatoes for a band just shy of twenty years into their career.  Read the entire review here.
Runners-Up
Ex-Hex Rips
Crocodiles Crimes of Passion

Worst Purchase for Completing a Musician's Run?
Kurtis Blow Back By Popular Demand 
There was really no reason to buy this album except for the sheer, demented, curiosity of the VVers to hear how bad it actually would sound, oh, and to complete the collection of all Kurtis Blow albums on vinyl.  Quite a feat, by the VVers, not KB.  He's really lowballing it here.  It's a shame because you can tell he still has skills... just zero things that are relevant to rap about.

This just doesn't look right. 

Most Confounding Cover
The Gauntlet Soundtrack
This painted cover by renowned fantasy artist Frank Frazetta is stunning.  If it wasn't Clint's squinty face attached to somebody else's over-muscled bod it could be a masterpiece.  As a crate digger this VVer never expected to find this soundtrack and sort of wishes it could be unfound.  Good luck trying to unsee it.  However, the bleating-horn jazz on the album is not what is expected from this cover; it's actually not bad.

Best Live Recording
Queen Live at the Rainbow '74
Early Queen is the best and anything involving Queen II has this VVer's attention.  These previously unreleased recordings meld Sheer Heart Attack with Queen II:  think a "Stone Cold Crazy" "Ogre Battle" with off-the-rails, exploratory guitar riffing jams!  It helps that the recordings are spectacular and allow the instrumentation to really come through.  The stage banter from Freddie Mercury is suitably ridiculous.  And it came with a free purple tote bag!

Biggest Vinyl Record (Literally)/Best Justification for Having a Back-Up Player
The Jazz Messengers at the Cafe Bohemia Vol. 2
VVer #2 was checking this out at Gerosa Records in CT, and noticed the record was hard to get out of the inner sleeve and hard to get back in after.  The vinyl was in good shape, so not much was thought of the packaging difficulties.  Regardless, it came home with the VVers and was taken out to play.  The LP wouldn't spin cleanly on the turntable and there was a weird scraping sound.  What was happening?  Oh, the outer area of the record was just cut too large and hitting on the base of the needle arm when turning.  How bizarre!  Out came the portable record player on which it spun with ease.  GIANT RECORD!!!

Photos this size don't do this sleeve justice!

Best Package (Art and Vinyl) {haha, best package, haha}
Big Business Battlefields Forever
This album has the most beautiful cut paper (and glitter!) assembled cover and a crazy looking inner sleeve to boot.  The vinyl itself is a sludgy, dark green tie-die looking splotch.  Totally suits the sound of this monster album.
Runner-Up
Black Angels Clear Lake Forest
Upon a quick glance at the cover..."Ut, I just got high."  Swirly spinning record is pretty colors that you can taste with your eyes.

Best New Vinyl with Bells and Whistles

Jack White Lazaretto

Did you know there can be a hologram in a spinning record?  Did you know that depending on where the needle drops there can be two different openings, one acoustic, one plugged-in, for a track?  Who would have thought of a lock track at the end of a side of a record to actually MAKE you get up to flip it?  Mr. Jack White.  The VVers applaud your unparalleled use of bells and whistles to create a gem of a record.

Best Vinyl Not Purchased for $100
At the last DC Record Fair, VVer #2 was eying Mingus Ah Um from a vendor who had it in their rare section and said he would knock $20 off it and sell for just under $100... ah um, no thanks.  Instead a shiny reissue was found at the Sound Garden in Baltimore for around $20, the going-rate for new vinyl.  The music includes familiar tunes that you can't pinpoint where you know them from.  Spiffy arrangements and bass lines from Mingus.  The VVers aren't too sure why all the original copies of this recording are selling for astronomical prices (maybe they are just rare), but the music is certainly worth it and the VVers are happy they can listen to it on their favorite format without having to empty your pasta sauce jar.  Hooray for reissues!

Best Gift Vinyl
Neil Young + Crazy Horse Ragged Glory
(The LP was wrapped and then hidden beneath the fake cover for Milli Vanilli Girl You Know It's True, with an even faker sticker "Test Pressing - Brown Vinyl."  Genius.).
It would be hard to put into the words the shock of receiving a Milli Vanilli album as a gift and then the added happier shock of it actually being this hard to come by 90's era Neil + the Horse album.  Let's say it made for a relieved laugh.

Sneaky!

A lot could be made of how great this album is; easily enough to fill a separate write-up.  For the sake of this "Best of" let's just focus on the song "Love and Only Love," a ten plus minute garage rock masterpiece of blissful guitar bluster stippled with the purest lyrical call to arms.  "Love and only love will endure.  Hate is everything you think it is.  Love and only love will break it down."  The rest of the album is great, but wowie-zowie ... this song has some mighty legs on it.  Frank Sampedro's guitar leads are the sort of crunchy goodness that must be heard to be believed.  Bravo!  If not for the rest of this fine LP you'd wish it was a twenty minute song.
Runner-Up
Faith No More The Real Thing

Best Used Vinyl
Creedence Clearwater Revival
People don't really shine-on about their debut album, but it's got the goods.  Well worth adding to your collection.  Funny, the back cover has a massive write-up from a Rolling Stone editor about how San Francisco was the center of the popular music universe at the time.  The write-up contains exactly one sentence about the band.  Well, allow this VVer to shine-on for a second and state that this slab is a prime example of early heavy blues Americana.  Originals and covers duel for supremacy here with classic cover "Suzie Q" being the winner by a hair over original "Walk on Water."  Tough call.
Runner-Up
Them Roots of Rock

Most Triangluar Record

Neil Young Re-act-or single

Eyeballed at Long in the Tooth in Philadelphia, this triangular shaped record sleeve was hanging on the wall.  "What is that!?!"  VVer #2 needed to know if the vinyl inside was in fact triangular and how much this crazy thing would set her back.  The price was right and the  translucent red, triple-pointed slab of vinyl in the sleeve was in nice condition, thus the whole pointy package got to come home to the House of VV.  The innovative sleeve assembles into a pyramid shape when fastened correctly.  Not sure what the purpose of this is... Neil?  Although the tracks are from Re-act-or which the VVers already have, this was a great one to add to the collection.  It's gorgeously weird.

Best Concert

DEVO (Hardcore Tour) - Rams Head Live

The concert that should have been ho-hum turned out to be yum yum!  Not only is this band well into their grey years (too much?), but they are down two members (this mini-tour was actually meant as a fundraiser of sorts for the family of recently deceased Bob 2) and they were playing a venue that generally has been sour for these VVers.  Top this off with the fact that the band played almost entirely their pre-"Whip-It" back catalog of songs that are just as weird as ever.  Songs such as "She Didn't Know I Was a Midget," "Mechanical Man," and "Soo Bawls" interspersed with a few well know hits like "Uncontrollable Urge," "Mongoloid," and crushing early single "Be Stiff."  Well guess what?  DEVO are super professional and have chops for miles.  Playing as a four piece, the band sounded lean and full of energy.  Not only that, but the crowd was totally engaged and a lot of folks seemed completely stupefied by how strange it was.  This was the second time the VVers have had the good fortune to see DEVO and they are an enigma.  The second concert was just as creative and entertaining as the first; these guys are outliers in that regard.
Runners-Up
Crocodiles/Sisu/Shark Week - Comet Ping Pong

Queens of the Stone Age/St. Vincent/Brody Dalle - Merriweather Post Pavilion

The Faint - 9:30 Club

As you can see, it was a great year for live music.

Best New 45
Shark Week Santurce
This local band hasn't put out a ton of music yet.  The two impeccably catchy tunes on this 45 have these VVers salivating for a full LP release, which should be coming in 2015.  Santurce is a blissful blast of surfer rock played with swagger and abandon.  "Go West" from the A-side (oh wait, double A-side 45) is full of snakey tempo shifts and kick-ass drum work.  The VVers are going to burn this one out!

Most Relevant Development in the Filing Department
Moving the 10" records to their own section makes them easier to find.  The VVers discriminate by size.

Best Used 45
The White Stripes Conquest
Picked up at True Vine in Baltimore, this little disc packs a punch from Jack and Meg, with the help of some triumphant trumpeteering.  Beck (along with his living room) take credit on the B-side for the amusing ditty, "It's My Fault for Being Famous."

Artist Most Responsible for an Overcrowded Section of Storage and Depleted Funds
Mr. Neil Young
Almost an entire "cube" of the record shelf is devoted to a multi-sized collection of Neil Young vinyl: some flimsy 80's pressings and some giant, well packaged, triple-disc recordings (likely culprit of the depleted funds).

Most Divisive Record
Faith No More Motherfucker
VVer #2 does not want to hear this again in the house and very much dislikes the snarling wolf on the cover.
VVer #1 listens to it all the time when VVer #2 isn't home.  Granted, it is heavy, evil, and weird which is probably why VVer #2 enjoys it.

Upon reviewing the haul of 2014, the VVers realized that they have in fact done less vagabonding (aka crate-digging) and more new record purchasing over the past year.  This might just be a sign of the times; vinyl is back as a format and being pressed at such a rate that the few remaining record pressing factories can barely keep up.  While happy about the superior music format trending upwards the VVers have a budget to maintain; new vinyl isn't exactly cheap.  In the interests of getting back to basics, the VVers are going to try to concentrate on the pursuit of buried treasure in 2015.  Happy vagabonding!

The Final Countdown

Europe - The Final Countdown - 1986

Picked up on the way out the door of the most recent edition of the DC Record Fair when VVer #2 jokingly coerced VVer #1 into buying it for the 80's box (to be explained in a later post...stay tuned).  "Come on ... it's got "The Final Countdown" on it!  One listen and get rid of it.  Plus just look at that cover!  For crying out loud, it's embossed!" ... Bwahahaha. Sucker.

Should the VVers not waste their time writing about any of the music on this one? Should you not waste your time reading this?  Enough with the doubting!  It really is easy to be won over by Europe and their antics once you take the plunge.  No surprises here; plenty of synths, fade-outs, and power ballads to match with their elegantly styled poufy coifs.  You get the gist.  Many "whoas" and "whoa-os" lace the upbeat tunes.  It is so much more than just the title track!  (kidding. maybe.)  Winding down the first side of this album is "Ninja" which might just be made for a little-known, crap-tastic movie from the 80s Miami Connection, which the VVers saw this summer at local theater, AFI Silver.  Curious?  Here's the plot:

MIAMI CONNECTION
A gang of motorcycle ninjas wreaking havoc across Orlando, Florida, Mark (writer/director and Tae Kwan Do master Y. K. Kim) and his rock band Dragon Sound decide to fight back. Roundhouse-kicking their way to justice, the band still finds time to chase beach bunnies and perform their hit song, "Against the Ninja."

Yes, it is ridiculous as it seems.  And you should watch it.  Kind of like listening to The Final Countdown on purpose.

Back to this masterpiece of an album... Most of side A, including the slow ballad "Carrie," are well put together.  It's a good listen.  Things go off the rails on side B where it seems the band throws everything at the wall with reckless abandon.  It hurts the ears.  Apparently one can only withstand a single side of the album before having a meltdown.  On a completely other week VVer #1 took the plunge into side B with some less pain inducing results.  First song "Cherokee" recalls the trail of tears and the plight of the American Indian, all set to the fist pumping rock of the 80's that Europe so effortlessly delivers to your spleen  Tis' mighty indeed.  "Hey VVer #1, I thought this blog was about this goofy album we own and we weren't actually going to write about the music!" [Apparently VVer #1 actually listened to the lyrics].  The remainder of the side is tolerable if you can manage it.  Final song "Love Chaser" is heavy and heavily dull.  The thunderous blare of lead guitar rockets in every which way proving that somebody at least plugged the thing in and went through the trouble of tuning it.  Still, there are more than a few moments of well intentioned riffage that remind us of Queen.  A good influence for a band that really lacks Freddie Mercury and could probably use a ton of Brian May.

So why write about this album?  As we have previously noted, we have a little, yappy dog that lives next door, that, whenever the neighbors leave, cries endlessly, which in turn, causes the VVer household to crank some music.  Upon playing The Final Countdown on a recent spin, the realization came, "Shhh! I think it put Fluffy to sleep!"  Total silence... excellent.  It must remain in our collection now... Bwahahahaa.

Wedding Playlist

Since we put all this time and effort into the tunes that would be the soundtrack to our wedding night, might as well share them with you.  All tunes are from our record collection.

Ceremony
Booker T. and the MGs (Golden Slumbers/I Want You) – pre-ceremony

Flash Gordon – Wedding March

The Hero – post ceremony (walk out)

Jazz Cocktail Hour

Getz/Byrd – Jazz Samba - Bata, Samba Dees Days

Getz/ Gilberto – The Girl from Ipanema

Django – Anything...

Louie Prima – Breaking it Up, Mint Julep

Benny Goodman – This is Benny – Anything…

Louis Armstrong – Plays WC Handy – St Louis Blues, Ole Miss

Duke Ellington – Daybreak Express – Anything…

Booker T – Green Onions – Green Onions

Intro (Meet the new couple for the first time as Mr and Mrs)

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath – segue into...
The Gaylords – Pizza Party – Neapolitan Nights (first dance)

Reggae Dinner

Peter Tosh – Mama Africa – Johnny B Goode

Peter Tosh – Mystic Man – Mystic Man

Peter Tosh – Equal Rights – Downpresser Man, I am That I am

Ziggy Marley – New Love

Bob Marley – Catch a Fire - 400 Years, Kinky Reggae, Baby We’ve Got a Date, Midnight Ravers

Bob Marley Live – I Shot the Sheriff, Lively Up Yourself

Jimmy Cliff – You Can Get It If You Really Want, Harder they Come

The Clash – Black Market Clash – Armagideon Time, Pressure Drop, Justice Tonight/Kick it Over

Rockabilly

Chuck Berry – Johnny B Good

Chuck Berry – Rock n Roll Music, Roll Over Beethoven

Joan Jet – I Need Someone

Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks – Payola Blues, Kinda Fonda Wanda

Stray Cats – Built for Speed – Baby Blue Eyes

The Ventures – Walk Don’t Run or Rap City

Jack White – I’m Shakin’

Disco Funk Desserts

Herbie Hancock – Monster – Go For It

Stevie Wonder – Living for the City, Higher Ground

Kool and the Gang – Hollywood Swinging, Jungle Boogie

Blondie – Parallel Lanes – Heart of Glass, Rapture

James Brown – My Part/Make It Funky Part 3

James Brown – Make It Funky Part 1

KC Sunshine Band – Shake Your Booty

Michael Jackson – Off the Wall – Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough

Lipps Inc – Funky Town

Thomas Dolby – She Blinded me with Science

Dance Party

Peter Tosh – Mystic Man – Buk-in-hamm Palace

Run DMC – It’s Tricky, It’s Like That, Peter Piper

Run DMC – Run’s House

Duran Duran – Notorious

Kurtis Blow – The Breaks

Kurtis Blow – Party Time

Neil Young – Trans – Sample and Hold

Flock of Seagulls – I Ran

Go Gos – We Got the Beat

Fat Boys – Human Beat Box

Men Without Hats – Safety Dance, Modern Dancing

DEVO – Freedom of Choice – Whip It

James Brown – Sex Machine, Call me Super Bad

Stray Cats – Built for Speed – Rock This Town

Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique – Hey Ladies, Shake your Rump

Beatles – Red Album – All my Loving

Michael Jackson – Thriller – Beat It

The Faint – Dance Macabre – Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat

Madonna – Like a Virgin – Dress You Up

Madonna – You Can Dance – Into the Groove

Huey Lewis and the News – The Heart of Rock n Roll

Ramones – Blitzkreig Bop

Lou Reed – Vicious

Jimmy Smith – Hoochie Coochie Man – Hoochie Coochie Man, Mint Julep

The Stooges – Funhouse – Down on the Street

Sugar Hill Gang – Rappers Delight

Whodini – The Freaks Come Out At Night, 5 Minutes of Funk

Young MC – Bust a Move

Paul Simon – Call Me Al

Rolling Stones – Lets Spend the Night Together

Slow Songs:

The Cars – Greatest Hits - Drive

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell – Eyes Without a Face

CCR – Green River - Night Time is the Right Time

Marvin Gaye – Lets Get It On

Louis Prima – All Night Long

Queen – Night at the Races - Somebody to Love (last dance)

Louis Prima – Chop Suey

Frank Sinatra – I Get a Kick Outta You

Beatles – Red Album – And I Love Her

Lou Reed – Satellite of Love

Filler

Marvin Gaye – That’s the Way Love Is – Cloud Nine

Billy Idol – Rebel Yell

George Michael – Monkey

Madonna – Holiday

Lionel Richie – All Night Long, Running with the Night

Wham! – Careless Whisper