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The second road trip…
I’m starting at the end and will work my way back to the start with these next few entries. This is the second road trip where I’ve taken time to dig a little along the way. You’ll read about the past trip in a future update. Maybe.

The well has run dry for a lot of what I use to hunt for, so I’ve changed approach. Anything New Zealand, even that which has the potential to be garbage listening, which is against the “restricting the collection size” policy, but still meets the 50c $1 and $2 policies!

My cuz always picked up the religious records to sample and he found soo much gold. Then eventually he found god. I was excited to see what I might find by taking a chance on some of these…

St Paul’s Singers - Harvest of Joy (1975)
This gatefold has incredible design by Don Hatcher. They can sing, there are some sweet songs, but after a while it is all a bit too much intense choir. The thing with NZ religious records is they don’t need a major label to press up and distribute. Their very organisations provide the capital and the distributions. Crowd funding. Minimal joy to be had for what i’m after. But that’s the low stakes pokie machine gamble you take with a $1 record.

The Festival Singers – Self titled (1977)
This one has a some great little moments and a couple of good songs such as Love One Another, Ain’ Got Time To Die and a version of Tama Ngakau Marie, a tune I’m familiar with, but I’m not sure these were the same lyrics as the waiata I know. The arrangements are creative, but again, after a while the choir component becomes a bit intense making the cat run away and the girlfriend disappear into the other room. I will listen to this a few more times, with headphones on.

Youth For Christ – First Place (1968)
YFC are part of an “aggressive bible centred evangelism” movement to fill the “moral vacuum” of the 60s. Sure… let’s see what’s up in NZ. This is as dorky as the youth themselves. The youth pictured (amazing cover photo!) don’t all sing at once, they take turns doing either their little trumpet piece or are like Jan, Peter and Michael who sing ‘I’ll Believe Ever More’ as gay as can be. Many parents were napping in the audience at this concert for sure. My first thought looking at all those innocent ol time youth on the cover was – oh man, I hope they weren’t all molested. But its not a Catholic youth group, so its likely only half were (bro, that’s not even funny). ‘De Gospel Train’ is de true shiner on this record!

Kids of the Kingdom with Annie Herring (1976)
Not New Zealand, but Canadian on the religious label Birdwing. I do like kids singing, and was hoping this would be a cute as it looks. And it is!!  A variety of ages and signing abilities which made me smile and be as excited for the lord as they were told to be.

Scripture In Song Recordings LTD - Prepare Ye The Way Part 1 (1972) Newmarket, Auckland.
I had to spread the listening of these religious records over a few nights in fairness to the household tolerance levels – and my concern that I’d eventually be worn down and succumb to their mighty god. I’ve never known when and how to use the word “Ye”. This record is just okay, a little same samey all ‘ye’ the way through.

Scripture In Song Recording LTD - Love, Joy, Peace (1973) Newmarket, Auckland.
Had a knock on the door this morning while sleeping in. Motherfuckers make me get up and open the door just to hear some “Are you worried about the state of the world and wonder why god doesn’t do anything? Well….blah blah etc” The disappointment of getting out of bed for these bitches was similar to that of this lame ass record. I got peace love and joy sleeping in with my girl. The world’s fine. Chill.

 

Cast of the Mana Arts Festival production – Saultalk (1974)
Foo-weee! Side one track one is KILLER!! I don’t think i’ve ever heard any NZ music with that wild 70s style. Sadly that 30 second intro is as good as it gets, but was still worth the $2 admission. This record is packed with liner notes and you can read in detail about how this sweet rock musical came to be. It involved a kid from Tawa College, and was only ever performed in Porirua Viard College Hall six times with rave reviews from The Evening Post. Then it was pressed up on wax for posterity. And here you are…

 

Alan Gardiner’s Accordion Band - Ole Faithful (1973)
I’ve seen this around a bunch. Great cover with ole faithful by the fire. That-a-boy. Alan Gardiner AKA “Mr Music” apparently was a household name and toured NZ and Aus with his wife (or sister? same last name) and four significantly younger looking accordion playing band mates who look half-heartedly enthused in their photos. It’s a huge medley of popular songs that aren’t bad, but the accordion and organ mono-drone gets tiresome quick.

The New Zealand Maori Theatre Trust Chorus – A Treasure Maori Songs (1966)
An offshoot of the NZ Maori Opera Company, this chorus group sing in an operatic / theatrical style with what the back cover states as “sparkle and enthusiasm”. It is a little weird hearing these tunes sung in this style. I don’t know bout this one. Haere Mai and Me He Manu Rere I’ve enjoyed singing at kapa. Recently I had an intimate experience where King Tuheitia and three others sung Koroki to some colleagues and myself. That was pretty special. The more familiar with waiata I become the more I can appreciate a good performance of them.

Tonga Today – Popular Music of Tonga (1973-75)
This record is soo beautiful from start to finish. Recorded by Richard M. Moyle, a fellow alumni of the University of Auckland Ethnomusicology programme, and put out on the reliable Hibiscus Records label. The recordings are intimate and on location. The song ‘Unga’ is “a light hearted look at human life from an animal’s point of view” and features a dog on the track. Enjoy…




Tchaikowsky – Swan Lake Ballet Suite
This one is for my former ballerina. We’ve been to a few symphony orchestra shows this year, but have not done the Ballet yet. It would make me feel capital C cultured to tick that one off the list. We be all sophisticated and shit.

Aldo Ciccolini – The Piano Music of Erik Satie
The op-shops are stacked with classical, but it always seems to be the same suspects, so it was great to pick this one up. A little sticker on the back shows it was originally purchased at Marbeck’s in Auckland. Some of Satie’s pieces are worthy of a funeral which is the biggest compliment a composer could get.

North Shore Accordion Orchestra – Concert USA (1980)
I was willing to donate 50 cents to the Salvation Army Rotorua to find out what these dweebs were up to. There is a heap of info about this album on the back cover, but here’s the short version which I’m making up based on a listen and a skim read: This group went to the U.S.A in 1979 for a couple of shows to desperately prove to the cool Americans that we’re pretty cool too. Then the group came back to NZ and recorded this album to commemorate that trip so they could then send a copy back to the U.S.A to say “Hey, remember that time we came over and played our accordions for you? … it was just last year... ummm.. no I think that was the Australian accordion group.. yeah I guess they were pretty good. Anyway... we made this for you guys!!” This record is a cute and dorky NZ gem, plus there’s some real loose drumming on one track with a wide open break. Score!

Kiwi Records -Famous Maori Legends. 
Myths and legends are not only great stories they also serve the purpose of handing down important information through generations. Sometimes though they’re not always told correctly or put in the right context. I remember signing a song about Hinemoa and Tutanekai on the bus to Lake Rotorua for a school trip where we visited Mokoia Island. The legend was told to us on the Island. We swam in the cold lake before being able to sit in the hot pool. When packing up to leave the Island, a teacher found a pair of shorts with undies tangled up inside and held them up to everybody to inquire whose they were. We all cracked jokes about them… “eh those are your stink undies.. hahahaha”. Turns out the teacher discovered my mum had written my brother’s name on them and announced it to the whole school. Shame-o’s as!

Do you know what else was shame-os as? The rude ass racist bitchface working at that op shop in Rotorua. Shame on you lady. After being embarrassingly disrespectful to some poor old kuia which led to a heated exchange with the grandson and another bystander, she continued on raving loudly to no one in particular about “some of those murrys are alright, but the rest of them” and “I don’t care if I get in trouble about this, I’m a volunteer, they can’t exactly fire me”.

Peter Cape & Friends – Taumata…
Yehhh… the longest town name in the country is plenty amusing. You know, most Maori place names in Aotearoa are shortened versions of what are generally long descriptions of that place and will often describe a significant ancestor’s relationship to that place as well. Most of us can’t even pronounce the shortened versions correctly. Anyho, Peter and his mates are just old boys playing some funny keywee tunes down at the hall.

Don Ho – Gold

How could I not pick this up? Low-budget independent release looking, it’s got Gothic font and a gold chain. Maybe Wiki could get all the answers about Don Ho, but meh to that… I’ve deducted / assumed that Don Ho sung over midi backing tracks in low-rate Hawaiian clubs and maybe even a dodgy cruise ship or two. Sounds like a slightly drunk Elvis, ready to work the sleaze on some tipsy tourist. The people who purchased this were having a great holiday, wrapped up in the moment, few cocktails downed and Don Ho performing in the background. They decided, just as Don had been suggesting between songs to the small crowd, to purchase the record for a memento of their wonderful time on the Island. When they got home and realised it was pretty bad. It sat in their record shelf un-played until eventually it made its way to the op-shop. And the cycle will continue…