The Muppet Musicians of Bremen - 1972

Another great item from my childhood is this 1972 soundtrack to the Muppet Musicians Of Bremen. I played this record until I wore the vinyl out, and I have not heard this album in over 25 years, until recently. I decided to archive them up and feature them here at The Flip Side to share this memory with those who also remember the classic tale about a donkey named Leroy, who underwent a vicious altercation with his master. During the night, our hero ventures out on his own with a wagon-load of stolen musical instruments. Wandering down the road leading to Bremen town, he meets up with a rooster named T.R., an old hound dog named Rover Joe, and a mangy feline named Catgut, all of which favored the idea of forming a band and heading to Bremen town where they hope their talents would be appreciated with edible rewards in return. Instead, they meet up with their estranged masters in an old swampland shack, where the story concludes with an unexpected ending.

Track listing:

01 - The Story Begins
02 - The Traveling Musician
03 - The Story Continues (Part 1)
04 - The Cock-A-Doodle Blues
05 - The Story Continues (Part 2)
06 - The Traveling Musicians (Part 1)
07 - The Story Continues (Part 3)
08 - The Traveling Musicians (Part 2)
09 - The Story Continues (Part 4)
10 - You Gotta Know Your Friends
11 - The Story Continues (Part 5)
12 - The Traveling Musicians (Part 3)
13 - The Story Continues (Part 6)
14 - A Family Together
15 - The Story Concludes
16 - Closing Theme

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Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas - 1977

Primarilly aired on HBO, here comes part two of the three-part Muppet posts. This is by far one of my greatest memories of childhood. Every year at around Christmas time, I recall going to the local Chuck E. Cheese's for food and fun, then coming right home to cue up HBO to enjoy Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. This became an every-year tradition, and I always loved watching this feature when I was growing up, and I still enjoy it just as much as I did back then. Here is the music that came from the feature, plus an unused song is included: Born In A Trunk, which was sung by one of the characters during the Talent Show sequence that was never used in the original feature. Another interesting song in this lineup is the remix of The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore. In the feature, one of the lines from the song was dropped, but it's been included in this remixed version.

Track Listing:

01 - Opening Theme - Emmet & Alice Otter
02 - The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore - Emmet & Alice Otter
03 - When There Ain't No Hole In The Washtub - Emmet & Alice Otter
04 - When The River Meets The Sea - Emmet & Alice Otter
05 - Barbecue - The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band
06 - Born In A Trunk - The Music Store Owner
07 - Barbecue - Yancey Woodchuck
08 - Our World - Alice Otter
09 - Brothers - The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band
10 - Riverbottm Nightmare Band - The Nightmare
11 - Our World-Brothers - The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band & Alice Otter
12 - Our World-Brothers (Reprise) - The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band & Alice Otter
13 - When The River Meets The Sea (Reprise) - The Frogtown Hollow Jubilee Jug Band & Alice Otter

Download link: Megaupload

The Frog Prince - 1971

Time for a little change of pace. In my next three posts, I would like to share a part of my childhood, inspired by and dedicated to Tony at Way Out Junk. This is part one of this series of posts: from the Tales From Muppetland series. Here, Kermit the Frog narrates the tale of The Frog Prince from 1971. Enjoy!

Track listing:

01 - Prologue
02 - Frog Chant
03 - Sir Robin The Brave
04 - Dialogue
05 - Frogs
06 - N'Im Nineteen
07 - Dialogue (Part 2)
08 - I'm Nineteen
09 - Sleep, Sweetums
10 - Dialogue (Part 3)
11 - Sweetums
12 - Anthems Of Joy
13 - Epilogue

Download link: Megaupload

Cryan Shames - Synthesis (1969)

By special request, here's one of the albums by the same guys that brought you "Sugar and Spice" in 1966. I'll be in the process of compiling that one sooner or later, but for now, please enjoy this 1969 gem.

Track listing:

01 - Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith
02 - Baltimore Oriole
03 - It's All Right
04 - Your Love
05 - A Master's Fool
06 - First Train To California
07 - The Painter
08 - Sweet Girl Of Mine
09 - 20th Song
10 - Let's Get Together
11 - Symphony of the Wind

Download link: Megaupload

The Wackers - Shredder - 1973

I found this cover quite interesting, and so I took a chance. Not a bad chance, says I.

Here we have some sort of rainbow-making machine, depicting the heads of the group members, feeding directly into a grinder which turns everything into flowers. Ooooohhhhhh-kay then. If this isn't a concept thought up by hippies, I really don't know what else is.

Track listing:

01 - Day & Night
02 - Hey, Lawdy Lawdy
03 - I'll Believe In You
04 - Put Myself To Sleep
05 - Eventually Even You And Me
06 - Coming Apart
07 - It's My Life
08 - Beach Song
09 - Buck Duckdog Memorial Jam (Our Ship's Comin' In-My Old Lady-You Really Got Me)
10 - Last Dance

Download link: Megaupload

The Other Half - 1968

Alright, all you psych fans, have I got a surprise for you. I had to include this, being the big time Blue Cheer fan that I am. Here's The Other Half's self-titled album from 1968, featuring Randy Holden on guitar. This was the group he was in before running off to join Blue Cheer. Jeff Nolan belts out the vocals in this superb psych album, despite their popular single "Mr. Pharmacist" is not on this album. Nevertheless, let not your collection be complete without this gem.

Track listing:

01 - Introduction
02 - Feathered Fish
03 - Flight Of The Dragon Lady
04 - Wonderful Day
05 - I Need You
06 - Oz Lee Eaves Drops
07 - Bad Day
08 - Morning Fire
09 - What Can I Do For You (First Half)
10 - What Can I Do For You (Second Half)

Download link: Megaupload

Black Pearl (1969)

Arrrr, matey! I be not talkin' 'bout the lost treasure from Davey Jones's Locker, but all you psychedelic superfans out there may just start digging the sound from this spot-on album! Indulge yourself in one of the finest in psych music, and you don't even need to sail the seven seas for this one.

Track listing:

01 - Crazy Chicken
02 - Thinkin' 'Bout The Good Times
03 - White Devil
04 - Mr. Soul Satisfaction
05 - Forget It
06 - Climbing Up The Walls
07 - Bent Over
08 - Endless Journey
09 - Reach Up

Download link: Megaupload