Taragon Records has released four new Johnny Mann Singers albums on compact disc and presented them to you on two "2 on 1" compact discs. These four albums represent some of Johnny Mann's finest work and have been out-of-print on vinyl for decades. Now you can have your very own digitally-remastered copy! We can only hope that sales of these are successful and that Taragon will continue to license and release more, as they've done with Bert Kaempfert recordings.

THE JOHNNY MANN SINGERS, Invisible Tears/We Can Fly! Up, Up And Away

Tracks: Invisible Tears, People, Love Me With All Your Heart, The Girl From Ipanema, Everybody Loves Somebody, Hello Dolly, Shangri-La, The World I Used To Know, Al-Di-La, Today, A World Without Love, Blue Velvet, Up Up And Away, Something Stupid, I Got Rhythm, Portrait Of My Love, Go Where You Wanna Go, Dedicated To The One I Love, Yellow Balloon, This Is My Song, Monday Monday, Release Me, Joey Is The Name.

THE JOHNNY MANN SINGERS & SI ZENTNER ORCHESTRA, Great Band With Great Voices/Swing The Great Voices Of The Great Bands

Tracks: Dream, Flamingo, Am I Blue, Deep Purple, Ol' Man River, St. Louis Blues, Little White Lies, Serenade In Blue, 'Taint What Cha Do, It's A Lonesome Old Town, Baubles Bangles And Beads, Breezin' Along With The Breeze, Marie, At Last, Undecided, Paper Doll, If I Didn't Care, Mississippi Mud, The Hut Sut Song, Rum And Coca Cola, I'll Never Smile Again, Chattanooga Choo Choo, It Happened In Monterey, On The Sunny Side Of The Street.

Collectables Records continues its dedication to releasing Percy Faith albums with another "2 on 1" release of the Beatles Album and Jesus Christ Superstar. This, too, is a "must buy" CD for all Percy Faith fans and collectors.

Tracks: Let It Be; Here; There And Everywhere; Norwegian Wood; Michelle; The Ballad Of John And Yoko; Something; Eleanor Rigby; Because; Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds; Yesterday; The Fool On The Hill; Superstar; Heaven On Their Minds; What's The Buzz; Everything's Alright; Hosanna; Simon Zealotes; Pilate's Dream; The Temple; I Don't Know How To Love Him; Gethsemane; The Trial Before Pilate; Superstar.

Continuing with the Percy Faith series, Collectables Records has released another "2 on 1" CD that pairs Percy's "Great Folk Themes" and "American Serenade" albums. These two classics have never been released on compact disc in America, and Faith fans should be happy to add these treasures to their collections and will doubtlessly enjoy the pristine digital audio sound.

Here's how Steve Hall describes this piano duet with collaborator Mary Beth Carlson...

Listen as the strings sweep grandly over the melodies with their own musical life. Hear the instruments move in and out, through your favorite melodies, at once familiar, but more interesting. This offering, a collaboration between two close friends, Steve and Mary Beth; two pianos, creating music of romance; and the best use of musicians and arrangements yet. Envision your own candlelit dinner or evening under the stars, and let the music set the mood.

Tracks: La Vie en Rose/To a Wild Rose (medley); Night and Day
More; Hearts in Harmony; If I Loved You; Reverie/Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (medley); The Look of Love; Isn't It Romantic; Some Enchanted Evening; Till; Can't Help Falling In Love; Sometimes/Vivaldi Interlude (medley); You Needed Me; And I Love Her; Fields of Gold/Opus 35, #17 (medley)

To hear samples of this recording and to purchase it, go to Steve's site.

Collectables continues its releases of Ray Conniff. These are albums that have been long out-of-print on vinyl and have never been released anywhere in the world on CD. You can purchase this CD from many sources, including the Collectables website where they offer it at 13% off suggested retail.

Also take a look at the other Ray Conniff albums that Collectables has released here.

Perry La Marca, Hopelessly Romantic

According to the Parfait Records press release, "Radio programming mogul Tom Churchill commissioned Perry La Marca to record several projects of music for his syndicated clients back in the heyday of "custom" music production for broadcast. Tom picked the titles and he specified certain musical styles--some purely orchestral, some with solo instrument lead, some with a full chorus and others with occasional vocal refrains. Perry was left with the task of writing the arrangements, along with the caveat to keep it very smooth and very beautiful. Perry also selected the musicians--some of the best players in Hollywood who were always in demand and who worked for the best arrangers and on the biggest projects in the biz. For singers, Perry hired the exceptionally talented Ron Hicklin and Sally Stevens who then chose the other singers. In all, more than three dozen songs were recorded over a period of several years.

"The results were stunning: Exceptionally fine arrangements performed beautifully. The skill of the musicians and the harmony and diction of the singers will knock your socks off!

"In this first release by Parfait Records, Hopelessly Romantic by Perry La Marca features sixteen lovesongs selected from the Churchill sessions. First-generation master tapes were restored using today's best digital technology.

"By a prophetic coincidence, the CD was released for sale on Valentine's Day 2002--what a wonderful way to launch a CD entitled Hopelessly Romantic!"

Take a look at the Parfait Records website for the track listing and for more information about the project and Perry La Marca. This sounds like a CD you won't want to miss!

Visit Parfait Records

Lamar Pecorino, Keep The Music Playing

While most of the albums we feature on this site are instrumental, occasionally an album comes along worthy of special mention. We'd like to call your attention to a new release on the American Classic Records label by Lamar Pecorino. The songs on Keep The Music Playing are "standards" that have been embraced by audiences worldwide. The arrangements are good and the vocal stylings superb.

No doubt you'll recognize these favorites: Fly Me to the Moon; Girl Talk; How Do You Keep the Music Playing; Catch a Falling Star; Everybody Loves Somebody; Night and Day; Memories Are Made of This; Round and Round; Summer Wind; One For My Baby. Sound clips are available online at CD Baby.com where you can also purchase the CD. Take a listen!