Side 1:
01) Flamingo
02) Always
03) Deep Purple
04) Smoke Rings
05) What, No Pearls
06) Jungle Drums
Side 2:
01) Serenade
02) I Can't Give You Anything But Love
03) Seven Steps
04) I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
05) Don't You Do It
06) Steamwhistle Jump
Side 1:
01) Flamingo
02) Always
03) Deep Purple
04) Smoke Rings
05) What, No Pearls
06) Jungle Drums
Side 2:
01) Serenade
02) I Can't Give You Anything But Love
03) Seven Steps
04) I'm Getting Sentimental Over You
05) Don't You Do It
06) Steamwhistle Jump
So before you cats 'n' kittens out there in Be Bop Wino Land start howlin' that I've posted the same damned LP twice over, no I haven't. We have reached the point I have been dreading, i.e. revisiting and re-upping a selection of the seemingly infinite number of Earl Bostic LPs released by King in the 1950s. The apparent duplication in this post is caused by the decision of King to have Bostic re-record many of his LPs in stereo in a short intensive spell of studio activity in the spring of 1959. The resulting albums were released around 1959-1960 with identical titles to their predecessor mono LPs which had been released beween 1956 and 1958.
However in this case there is a slight alteration to the title as by 1959 King had been issuing a slew of Bostic LPs which included the word "dance" in their titles, so there it is slapped across the front cover of the stereo version, just above the hot chick in her underwear who appears to be on the verge of being devoured by a flock of parrots or parakeets. At least she's having a cocktail while the ravenous birds gather above her.
In fact so overwhelming is King's attention to detail, you can take your choice from 3 different titles for this LP by looking at the front and back covers and the disc labels. The front cover also informs the buyer that the album is both monaural and in stereo, which must have been confusing. In fact it's in stereo. And also in fact this isn't the 1959 issue but a 1980s reissue.
But let us go back to 1956 when King issued its first R&B 12-inch LPs in February of that year. There had in fact been a series of R&B 10-inch LPs issued from 1953 onwards but King changed rather belatedly to the 12-inch format with the release of 4 LPs which were previewed in the 16th February issue of Billboard. Groovers could choose from the following platters -
The Best Of Bostic (King 395-500)
Tiny Bradshaw (King 395-501)
Moondust - The Bill Doggett Combo (King 395-502)
Earl Bostic For You (King 395-503)
Which now brings us to the difference between the 2 Bostic albums posted here. The track lists may be identical but the two LPs offer very different listening experiences. The 1956 LP is a compilation of previous Bostic singles recorded between 1950 and 1953 with a variety of musicians which for me makes for a more interesting listen than the March and June 1959 recordings of the stereo version which used an identical group of musicians.
The arrangements on the stereo LP are quite different from the original singles and LP, so Be Bop Winos, now is the chance to train your ear to tell the difference between the two sets of recordings. This may come in handy as various 1980s reissues often failed to differentiate, which led to some confusion on the part of Bostic fans and bloggers such as myself.
This October 2017 post of the 2 versions contains full recording and personnel details for both albums:
I know that there are quite a few Bostic fanatics out there, so stand by for more alto sax shenanigans.
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