Does what it says on the tin: "The Best of the West Done With A Swingin' Beat." This 1962 album, one of the few recorded by lounge crooner Pete Brady before an errant tennis racket damaged his throat, is more fun than a brawl in a saloon. Big, brassy orchestrations (by an uncredited Bob Florence) featuring members of Woody Herman's Thundering Herd thunder their way thru classic cowboy songs. Very rural songs given a hip urban twist makes for a pretty ridiculous combo, but one that, strangely enough, was not uncommon. Why? A couple guesses: anything western was very popular at the time. Shows set in the Old West were as ubiquitous on mid-century TV sets as detective programs are now. And swinger-central Las Vegas was still, in the '50s/early '60s, not too far removed from it's Wild West past. Many early hotels and casinos had a western theme. In any case, you'll chortle with glee blasting such kooky finger-snappin' remakes of the likes of "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds" and "I'm An Old Cowhand." And any version of Roy Rogers' ode to my homeland, "The San Fernando Valley," is always welcome. A tip o' the hat to Windy for this one.PETE BRADY - "How The West Was Swung"
THE MUSIC FOR MANIACS MORNING ZOO!!!!!!Good mooooooorning, maniacs! Mr Fab with ya. Got the traffic report comin' right up, but FIRST, two albums by American morning radio personalities we're GIVING away to t ... 
The Mighty Accordion Band - They Said It Couldnt Be Done!Apart from having one of the all-time great album covers (pretty obvious why I snatched this one up for a mere 99 cents at my local charity thrifty emporium), The M ... 
ALBUM DU JOUR #4: POLLUTING THE MAINSTREAMThe Eagles! Fleetwood Mac! Styx! Marie Osmond! That's the kind of stuff I listen to now. All that weird, experimental stuff - what was I thinking? ... 
MUSIC FOR SENIOR CITIZEN CAFETERIASHere's a true slice of Americana. Imagine: you visit a cafeteria-style restaurant in some place like Lawton, Oklahoma or Plainview, Texas. You get in line wit ... 
TOTALLY NUDE EXOTICABy request, the Irish folk mashup collection "Straight Outta Ireland" is back up. When my unbelieving eyes saw that parts of the US were going to be below -50 F (fa ... 
