I’ve recently discovered a fondness for Metal music (courtesy of Stranger Things and a few friends who like the genre). Now, other than Ghost (which is awesome) I haven’t explored the newer metal music. My metal tastes are stuck more or less in the 80s.
I’m a history guy by default and I can appreciate the early metal music more than the newer stuff because metal (and punk and rap) all come out of the same historical era, the deregulation and free market capitalism of Reagan (and Thatcher) which worked to kill the New Deal era programs/Welfare State and in doing so hurt the working class (both black and white). These policies were expressed as new musical genres.
In particular, I’ve been drawn to Metallica (though maybe one day I’ll explore Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeath) as they were first brought to my attention in the 1990s when they achieved more mainstream success. I like the fast pace and it helps me get out my frustrations and stress. I just feel a bit better after listening to it.
So I’ve gone back and mined their original roots.
I’ve been purchasing a few of their original records. I prefer the original vinyl instead of a reproduction. Partially, it’s a potential asset and partially is just the “vibes and feels” it makes me feel to hold something original from a period.
One item I happened to pick up was the Ride The Lightening on the Megaforce label. Inside this gem was a super cool Metallica Metal Militia Membership and Merchandise 8.5in. by 11in. form.
For 5 dollars you got a 1-year membership and included things like a quarterly newsletter, autographs, buttons, and discounts on merchandise. With inflation, it would be $15.45 in Aug 2024 dollars.
I got it scanned and wanted to post it here (or click on the image) for folks to download and print off as a neat accessory for the album. So enjoy it!
In 1943 to find a wider audience, he turned to Jazz. Dinah Washington‘s recording debut was with Keynote at the end of 1943.
In 1947 the label made an attempt to manufacture its own records that didn’t go as planned, resulting in the business being acquired by Mercury Records in 1948.
One popular record by Keynote was Songs of the Lincoln Brigade. It was produced in 1937. It is a collection of songs praising the soldiers who went to fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War.
Eric Bernay, died on Nov 5th, 1968 , according to his obituary in the New York Times –
New York Times, November 5, 1968, pp 44.
Many years ago I was traveling along the I-81 through the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia when I stopped at an antique store. Not sure of the town but I think it was North of New Market. I found a neat 78 record set, in mint condition. As well as a few single records.
The 78 record set was The Red Army Chorus of the USSR conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. It is Keynote Records Album number 103.
Front cover
Opening it up showed the lyrics of the songs. It was four 78 records (so 8 songs total)
From Border to Border
The Young Birch Tree
Cossack Song
If Tomorrow Brings War
Snowstorm
Song of the Tachanka
Meadowland
Along the Vales and Hills
Inside cover
One interesting thing is on the back cover. It has a Restricted Use Notice saying that the record is for non-commerical use on phonographs in homes and cannot be resold for any other use.
Inside back cover
It took a while but I was eventually able to digitize the songs below as an MP3. If you would like the .wav version of the songs, feel free to contact me and I can send you a copy. Enjoy!
From Border to Border
This song is number K209-A in the set and looks like it was composed by Ivan Ivanovich Dzerzhinsky. The song runs about a minute and 50 seconds. You can download the mp3 here or listen to it below. Sung by the Red Army Choir of the USSR.
The Young Birch Tree
The Young Birch Tree is song number K210-B. Music is adapted and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Soloist is V. Pankov. You can download the MP3 or listen to it below.
Along the Vales and Hills
Along the Vales and Hills sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted (and composed) by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Also looks like C. Alimov helped to create it too. Number K208-A. You can download the MP3 here or listen to it below.
Cossack’s Song
Cossack Song (or Cossack’s Song) sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Composed by Ivan Ivanovich Dzerzhinsky. Song number K209-B. You can download the MP3 here or listen to it below.
If War Breaks out Tomorrow
If War Breaks out Tomorrow (or If Tomorrow Brings War). Song number 201-A. sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Composed by Dmitry Pokrass and Daniil Pokrass (they were brothers) as well as Vasily Lebedev-Kumach.
The lyrics note that the Red Army Chorus of the USSR was created in 1928 with 12 performers. It has won many awards and now has 200 performers coming from both the Red Army and the Red Navy.
Meadowland (Song of the Plains) is number K208-A. Sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Song was composed by Viktor Gusev and Lev Knipper.
You can download the MP3 here or listen to it below.
Snowstorm
Snowstorm is number K210-A. Sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and adapted and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Soloist is V. Pankov.
Tachanka is number K201-B. Sang by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov. Lyrics by Mikhail Ruderman and composed by Konstantin Listov. A tachanka is a horse-drawn machine gun, mounted on a peasant cart.
Tachanka was used in WW1 (and the Russian Civil War)
This is a single record that I also bought at the same time. It is number K213-B and is sung by the Ukrainian State Choral Ensemble. I’m not sure of the lyrics, though it appears to be a Ukrainian Folk song.
The Internationale is a left-wing song used by various social and communist movements. It was composed by Pierre De Geyter. This is number K213-A and is sung by the Bolshoi Theatre Chorus and Orchestra. Looks like the group associated with the Bolshoi Theatre at the time sang it.
You can download the MP3 here or listen to it below.
Forward to Victory (Charge of the Tanks)
This was also part of the collection I purchased. Though this doesn’t appear to be Keynote Records. Instead, it is Forward to Victory (Charge of the Tanks). Number 6309B. Taken from the film The Red Tanks and sung by the Moscow Military Chorus (courtesy of Artkino Pictures). The Pokrass brothers composed it. It’s essentially a single from the movie’s soundtrack.
Artkino pictures were the official distributor of Soviet media (like movies and music etc) in North America between 1950 to 1980.
Song of the Fatherland, number 6309-A. Sung by the Moscow Military Chorus (courtesy of Artkino Pictures). A single from the film, One Day in Soviet Russia, was produced in 1941. The film is essentially a propaganda piece to help garner pro-soviet sympathy after Germany invaded it. It was narrated by Quentin Reynolds, a journalist, who would be very much anti-communist in the 1950s.
The archive also includes other Keynote Record songs like The Clouds Fly High and Blue Night. All were sung by The Red Army Choir of the USSR and conducted by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov.
Contained in the same box of tapes is a really solid gem of a self-produced album by a DJ Blunt. There are, in fact, lots of DJs named Blunt so tracking who made this is difficult.
The name of this album is Dope Cutz Volume 8, suggesting there are Dope Cutz 1-7 out there somewhere. The tape doesn’t seem to be made from a lower-quality product. The label on the tape is printed and says 1 for the first side and the same thing on the other, except a 2 for the second side.
The songs aren’t that bad and one song even includes a sampling from the OJ Simpson Trial (which might help to date the tape?).
The insert is shown below. A shot from below a set of stairs showing the sky, the stair handrail, the stair foundation, and an overhead light makes the insert. The insert is paper and clearly printed. Maybe someone will recognize this scene and let me know?
I digitized the songs but each side is one long song. I didn’t break up the MP3 so they play long and are big files. To listen to them you can download the file by clicking the link. If you need a .wav file, feel free to contact me.
A buddy of mine handed me a collection of old-school cassette tapes he no longer wanted. Contained in this collection is a really awesome metal tape.
The band’s name is called Faerchild, though it looks like they may have also gone as Fashion Risk.
The cassette tape itself is one of those clear ones, which I typically associate with being higher quality, and the inserts look to be professionally produced (as opposed to just printing copies from an at-home DIY-style printer).
Obviously, Discogs isn’t the end-all-be-all but it has a huge collection and the fact that nobody seems to have a copy (as well as limited information about the band online) suggests a very limited release?
In looking at the insert, the first (and only?) release is called Ready to Rock. It looks like it was produced by the label: Briefcase of Talent out of Atlanta, GA.
The songs included Ready to Rock, Brain Dead, Memories of Michelle, and All Night Long. The tape has a release date of 1988.
Scott Faerchild is on the vocals, Shawn Tarver is on the guitar, Tim Lumb is on the Bass, and Alan Ayo is on the drums. A quick Google search brings up some people who might have been part of this project.
One of the inserts has a message to fans about the Ready to Rock release.
You can hear the songs in an MP3 format. In the files below I just combined both sides together. So each MP3 consists of two songs. I also have these in .wav format in my Google Drive. So if you’re interested in a .wav format, let me know.
