It's about Time.....A Wish Come True
UnderTaker Fanatic | Adirondack Mountains | 07/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This CD is fabulous especially if you are into the New Vaudeville Band like I am.Their hit song was WINCHESTER CATHEDRAL. It has every song from the original vinyl record.It also has alot of extras that are extremely hard to find.There are 33 songs in all.New Vaudeville band was a mid 60's band that had a habit of using Megaphones and Kazoos for sound affects like in the Roaring 20's to the Big band era and in most cases they also dressed the part as well.Simply outrageous and fabulous.The sound quality is superb by the way.The list of the songs on this cd are as follows:
1 Intro for the Coca Cola commercial
2 Whatever happened to Phyllis Puke
3 Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square
4 I can't go wrong
5 That's all fo0r now Sugar baby
6 There's a kinda hush
7 Tap your feet
8 Whispering
9 Your love ain't what it useed to be
10 Lili Marlene
11 Oh Donna Clara
12 Diana goodbye
13 Winchester Cathedral
14 Finchley Circle
15 Shine on harvest moon
16 Peek a Boo, 17 Shirl, 18 I wonder who's kissing her now, 19 Sadie Moonshine, 20 So Tired, 21 If I had a talkin picture of you, 22 Reflections, 23 Rosie, 24 Waiting for Wendy, 25 I was Lord Kitchner's Valet, 26 Amy, 27 Green Street Green, 28 Holiday Inn, 29 Lovely Women, 30 Ivy Osborne -Which was Unreleased, 31 Rosie- Original Demo, 32 Holiday Inn- Original Demo and lastly 33 Winchester Cathedral- Original Demo.
The New vaudeville band had appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show,had an interview with Walter Cronkite and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.They also were the Host of the Town when they appeared regularly in Vegas.The CD contains their entire story on pages on the inside cover/insert of the cd with photos.I own the original vinyl record which is rare to find.So this was a very pleasing surprise to have seen this on Amazon and I know there are other cd's like this out there but they are not the same.They do not contain all the original songs that were on their record plus there are no extras.This does.I recommend this to anyone that loved or even liked them.It's well worth the price and will surely bring back many fond and pleasnat memories.Give it a try especially if you like Swing or Big Band music.It's kinda old fashioned but with a twist.There was no ther group ever like them.Totally unique in everyway.I have not one complaint.Just praise!!!!!
"
They are who we thought they were! (apologies to Dennis Gree
Michael J. Melton | Pulaski, Wi United States | 03/08/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Listen to the sound clips and you will see that this CD is more than just their one big hit song, "Winchester Cathedral". Even though "A Kind of Hush" was contemporary hit, they place their 1920s stamp on it as well as the authentic period pieces and their original numbers. They don't all sound the same but remained faithful to their concept through their history that is comprehensively collected here. Their sense of humor is sly but affectionate for the genre. I like to listen to this while I'm driving for a change of pace, great historical liner notes too. No one else has tried to do this 1920s sound since, what would be the point?"
An Unlikely Hit By An Even Unlikelier Group
George W. Murray | 06/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Winchester Cathedral is by far the oddest # 1 hit to come out of the mid-1960s, and the artists, The New Vaudeville Band, certainly the most obscure collections of British Invasion singers/musicians to have ever had a # 1. It came from the pen of songwriter Geoff Stephens who, rather than try and sell it to an established group, put together a collection of session musicians, including drummer Henry Harrison, and recorded it in the style of old-time band leader Rudy Vallee, who sang many of his early hits through a megaphone.
It's not clear what his expectations were but, after quickly rising into the Top 5 of the British charts, it was released in the U.S. on Fontana 1562 and soared to # 1 Billboard Pop Hot 100 AND # 1 Adult Contemporary (AC) late in 1966 (the flip, Wait For Me Baby, is unfortunately left out of this otherwise excellent album, which is a shame considering that they did throw in a couple of demo cuts and a previously-unreleased side). In any event, the huge success so caught Stephens off-guard that he wasn't sure what to do when demands started pouring in for personal appearances.
There is also some confusion as to who, exactly, did the vocal on the original hit, at first attributed to Stephens, and then later to John Carter who was a member of both the Flowerpot Men and The Ivy League and, according to some sources, the lead with John Smith And The New Sound (aka Bobby Dean). Whatever the case - and we'll probably never know for certain - the touring group recruited vocalist Alan Klein who was billed as Tristram, The Seventh Earl Of Cricklewood to capitalize on the existing popularity of everything British across North America.
Stephens remained in the U.K. where he wrote their next two hits, Peek-A-Boo, a # 16 AC and a minor # 72 Hot 100 in February 1967 b/w Amy on Fontana 1573, and Finchley Central, a # 24 AC and # 102 Hot 100 "Bubble Under" in June 1967 b/w Sadie Moonshine on Fontana 1589. When nothing else they did could get them back on the North American charts, the band dissolved in the early 1970s.
This release from Rpm Records of the U.K. is probably the most complete collection of their North American sides you're apt to find, and not only is the price quite reasonable, but the sound quality is excellent and there are informative liner notes written by Mark Marymont. A one-time radio announcer before turning to writing about music for publications such as USA Today and The Philadelphia Inquirer, he is probably one of the best at putting together such notes for CDs, including releases from Varese-Sarabande and Collectables.
All in all, a nice compact package covering probably the unlikeliest group to have emerged in that turbulent and fast-changing period where popular music was concerned. Highly recommended."
Track Listings (33) - Disc #1