A1. Don’t Kid Me A2. Beautiful Song A3. Hard to Get A4. Grandmother’s Joy A5. For Me A6. Red Red Robin B1. Circling Pigeons B2. Outside B3. Boo Hoo B4. Rose Blossom B5. Povidam B6. Elephant C1. Gray Mountains C2. Sonny’s C3. Clock on the Steeple C4. Girl Medley C5. Enchanted Woods C6. Medley Number One D1. From Cottage to Castle D2. Oldtime Waltz Medley D3. Spring Awakening D4. When I Was Single D5. Never Say Never Again D6. Pan Handle
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that this polka
record is the strangest thing on vinyl that I own. Certainly is more unexpected
than any other genre- at the very least I can explain my love for the experimental
deep house records and the weird alternative
rock 45s I’ve picked up (using the most literal definition of alternative
here). Polka is just hard to not laugh at, but I think I’ve learned how to
laugh with it instead.
I won’t pretend to have an undying love for this record. It’s
old polka music, with tubas and jazz drums and more horns and more percussion,
and isn’t something I’m necessarily used to. But it’s difficult to ignore the
influence that this genre has had on another of my unlikely favorites:
fifties-era easy listening, such as Moonglow.
Brass sections were far more popular back in the day, and the upbeat nature of Dancetime is matched by the softer and
slower nuance of Moonglow. To compare
it to television, if the Dan Luboff Choir gives us Days of Our Lives, then the
Jim Bochnicek Orchestra is our Mary Hartman Mary Hartman- funny, but not widely
known anymore due to its peculiarity.
Strange or not, this is some well-written polka music. And with
two full LPs there is no shortage of material. I should throw a dance party,
where everyone learns to dance the waltz. Who wants to RSVP?
Sawdust & Gin 