Harpers Bizarre - Anything Goes (Mono) '1967/2001

Tracks list

When you first spin Anything Goes, don’t start bemoaning the mastering
job: the introduction – appropriate entitled “(Intro) This Is Only
the Beginning” – is supposed to sound like it was taken from an old
record. After all, how better to set the stage for the band to tackle
“Anything Goes” and “Two Little Babes in the Woods”? Not
that covering Cole Porter was a decision destined to pay off with huge success,
but the fact that Harpers Bizarre managed to make it into the Billboard Hot 100
with both “Anything Goes” (#43) and their take on the Mack Gordon /
Harry Warren classic, “Chattanooga Choo Choo” (#45) at all seems
kind of miraculous when you think about the other tunes taking the chart by
storm at the time.

The rest of the album follows a similar sonic format, with the group throwing in
a few other standards – “Pocketful of Miracles,” written by
Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, is a particular highlight – while also
turning in a couple of originals (“Hey You in the Crowd,”
“Virginia City”) and taking on songs by some of their peers that
were easily made to fit the mold, like Randy Newman’s “The Biggest
Night of Her Life” and “Snow,” Doug Kershaw’s
“Louisiana Man,” and, to close things out, Van Dyke Parks’
“High Coin.”

Anything Goes might’ve been an album out of step with the times even in
’67 – a creative decision which Harpers Bizarre wore proudly on
their sleeve –but one thing’s for sure: listening to this material
in mono feels just right.

This edition features the original mono mix of the album, which has been out of
print since 1967.

Dickie Scoppetone, vocals, guitar, bass
Ted Templeman, vocals, guitar, drums
Eddie James, guitar
Dick Yount, bass, background vocals
John Petersen, drums, percussion, background vocals

Digitally remastered

Tracklist:
 01. Harpers Bizarre - This Is Only the Beginning (01:45)
 02. Harpers Bizarre - Anything Goes (02:00)
 03. Harpers Bizarre - Two Little Babes in the Wood (03:48)
 04. Harpers Bizarre - The Biggest Night of Her Life (02:27)
 05. Harpers Bizarre - Pocketful of Miracles (02:50)
 06. Harpers Bizarre - Snow (02:40)
 07. Harpers Bizarre - Chattanooga Choo Choo (02:36)
 08. Harpers Bizarre - Hey, You in the Crowd (02:26)
 09. Harpers Bizarre - Louisiana Man (02:37)
 10. Harpers Bizarre - Milord (03:06)
 11. Harpers Bizarre - Virginia City (02:15)
 12. Harpers Bizarre - Jessie (03:48)
 13. Harpers Bizarre - You Need a Change (02:44)
 14. Harpers Bizarre - High Coin (02:36)

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