Make Mine Mondo! 2.
Label: Ace.
Release Date: 28th November 2024
Format: CD.
Usually, record labels spend a considerable part of their budget promoting their latest releases. However, that isn't always the case. Many independent labels, both big and small have a rather chaotic approach to promoting an album.
Some smaller independent labels have no budget for promotion. They're run by wannabe be record moguls, and are essentially vanity projects that lose money year-on-year. Often, the label is subsidised by the owner working for a bigger label, record shop or doing PR. None of their releases are successful because the label has no money for promotion. There's neither radio play nor reviews in the musical equivalent of a Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. I've encountered these labels and artists are wasting their time signing to them.
This is often the case with bigger labels. Often they're undercapitalised, and run by enthusiastic amateurs with no business background and very little idea of how a record labels should be run. It's often chaotic at these labels run by the clueless, the hapless, hopeless and useless. Basically, people who in other walks of like who would be unemployable. I recently, came across a label like this and it was like One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
To a man and woman they were truly incompetent, and the finished product was third-rate at best. Tracks spelt incorrectly, credits wrong, mastering awful and a gaudy album covers that would win prizes for its sheer awfulness. Sometimes, there's even mistakes in the titles of this label's releases. As labels go, this one is on the worst. No wonder, employing the Drowning Man to run the label, and someone like the Queen Of Chaos to promote their releases. Despite her promises, she's no contacts at radio stations or amongst music journalists. Instead, she gets someone to post out a few promos and gets backs to doing what she's best at, nothing. That's what she does most of the time. The rest of the time she bickers and argues, and gets involved in petty office politics with pathetic, petty little people. That's why this label's releases sink faster than Sir Sneer and Rachel, The Junior From Accounts' ratings. These releases are the musical equivalent of the Titanic, and this shambolic, loss-making label continues to release mediocre compilations by has-been pop stars and third-rate writers. Anything that's new, leftfield, innovative or commercial they've no idea how to handle. They certainly wouldn't know how to promote it.
In the past, some successful owners of labels didn't believe in spending money on promoting singles or albums but still enjoyed commercial success. This includes Lew Bedell the owner of Doré Records. He was reluctant to spend money promoting a new single.
Bedell only ever commissioned photographs of his artists unless their single had charted, and very rarely advertised in the trade press. By then, Doré Records had already enjoyed a million-selling single with The Teddy Bears' 'To Know Him Is To Love Him,' and Bedell a former standup comedian turned musical impresario was content to do things his way.
So much so, that Bedell was willing to take a chance on all sorts of artists and bands that arrived at Doré wanting to record a single. Those that had potential Bedell took into the studio, and quickly recorded a single. This Bedell knew wouldn't cost much, and if the single was even a minor success would more than repay his costs. However, not all of these singles were a success, and many were destined for obscurity.
Other times, Bedell put a band together, and they went into the studio and recorded all sorts of tracks. This included fuzzed out garage, instrumentals and rockabilly. The label's output was eclectic, esoteric and often successful. Bedell was running the label that way he wanted to.
Having graduated from high school, Lew Bedinsky headed to LA College and later, studied at the Santa Barbara State College, which was where he met Doug Mattson. Soon, the pair were performing a comedy show together on shows around the college campus, and it was soon apparent that the pair had the makings of a successful act.
So much so, that they turned professional. Before that, Bedinsky decided to change his name in 1941, and became Lew Bedell. That was the name he used for the next twelve years, when he and Mattson performed their musical comedy act. However, in 1953, the pair spilt-up, and Bedell embarked upon a solo career as a stand-up comedian.
Bedell didn't enjoy the same success when he worked on the comedy circuit as a solo stand-up comedian. So much so, that after a year, his career was at a crossroads, and he was thinking a career after comedy.
Fortunately, Bedell was approached by his cousin Herb who was a music industry veteran and his father Max Newman with a business proposition. They were offering him the opportunity to invest in a new record company. Bedell realising that his comedy career was at a crossroads decided to invest $7,500 which helped to launch the new Era Records' label with Herb Bedell and Max Newman.
The nascent Era Records opened its door for business in March 1955, and over the next three years, enjoyed several successful singles. With things looking good for Era Records, a decision was made to expand the business.
In 1958, Doré Records, an imprint of Era Records was founded. The newly founded Doré Records was named after Lew's first son, who'd been born to Lew and his wife Dolores in 1957. The rationale behind forming a second label was that it would double the chances of having a record played on the radio. Its founders were also determined that Doré Records would release much more groundbreaking records.
This was the case from the day that Doré Records opened its doors. Having released two singles, a young Phil Spector approached the Bedell cousins with a new song by The Teddy Bears' 'To Know Him Is To Love Him.' When Bedell heard the understated arrangement, he thought that if it was to be released on Era the record would be rerecorded. Spector disagreed and so did Lew Bedell. He heard the potential in the 'To Know Him Is To Love Him,' and agreed to release the track on Doré Records its original form. The single became a huge worldwide hit, topping the charts in Britain and America.
For the next couple of years, Lew and Herb Bedell's opinions on music differed, and eventually, in May 1959, they decided to go their own ways. It was an amicable spilt with Herb Newman continuing to run Era Records, which he moved the company to new premises. Lew Bedell retained Doré Records, which stayed at 1481 Vine Street, Hollywood.
Now that Bedell owned Doré Records, he was able to run the record company the way he wanted. His cousin had been known to hire orchestras to record lavish arrangements, while Bedell's arrangements were very different. They were usually simpler and tended to lack the polish of his cousin's arrangements. However, they were also cheaper to produce so Bedell wasn't spending as much producing new singles.
Sometimes, Bedell purchased masters from producers who stopped by Doré Records looking to sell a new recording. They usually didn't cost Lew Bedell much, and would release the recording on Doré Records.
Other times, artists or bands would arrive at Doré Records looking to cut a record. Bedell would listen to them play, and if they showed any potential, he would signed them to Doré Records. After that, Bedell would take them into the studio to record a single which was released on Doré Records.
It wasn't unknown for Bedell to put a band together and have them record a single, which would be released on Doré Records using a moniker. This allowed Lew Bedell to follow the latest musical trend, in the hope of enjoying a hit single. That was why Bedell was running a record label.
While some record labels had their own "sound" during the pre-rock era, musical impresario Bedell was willing to release an eclectic selection of music as he went in search of hit singles. That was what mattered to Bedell, and why the singles that Doré Records released during the pre-rock age were often very different. This included the various novelty singles that were released on Doré Records. They were part of the Doré Records' story, and so are the twenty-eight tracks on 'Make Mine Mondo! 2.'
Opening the compilation is 'Clap Your Hands' by Ambertones. It was released on Doré Records' imprint Newman in 1965, then reissued on Rayjack in 1966. Garage rock and R&B collide to leave a lasting impression.
'Slander' was Ty Wagner's second and final single. This oft-overlooked slice of psychedelia was released on Era in 1966, and returns for an encore on 'Make Mine Mondo! 2.'
'Beaver Patrol' was originally released by The Blazers on the Acree label 1963. They were an instrumental band from California, and only released two singles. The master to their debut, a timeless surf rock hidden gem and is part of this little-known group's lasting legacy.
Laidback, bluesy, dreamy and lysergic describes 'I'm A Blind' by The Wizard's. It was released in 1966, and like many of Bedell's releases was bang on trend and had commercial potential.
Another foot-tapping instrumental is the Shadowesque 'Hurricane,' by Conrad and The Hurricane Strings. It was released as a single on Era, and is a reminder of another musical age.
Joyce Harris and The Daylighters covered 'I Got My Mojo Working.' However, it lay unreleased until the release of 'The Domino Records Story,' by Ace in 1998. This cover of a familiar song features a powerhouse vocal that's front and centre of the mix.
'I Ain't Drunk' is a slice of good time blues by Memphis-born Lonnie 'The Cat. It was released by RPM in 1954, and has stood the test of time and changes in musical tastes.
'The Wild Bird' by The Jive-A-Tones was released as a single on Fraternity Records in 1958. It's a memorable high kicking instrumental that fuses elements of rock n roll, rockabilly and surf rock.
'Hullee Gullee' was the B-Side of Fred Richards single 'Barricade.' It was released on Flip in 1958. Slow and moody with lots of echo added to the quivering, shivering guitars, blues and rock combine on another hidden gem.
'Talk To Me Baby' was on the B-Side of Donnie Bowser's single 'Tomorrow,' when it was released on the Domino label, in 1961. It's an explosive example of early sixties rock n roll.
Soul Serenade by Beau Dollar and The Coins was an instrumental produced by Lonnie Mack, and released on Fraternity, in 1968. It's soulful, funky and features an emotive, soul-baring vocal.
The Cave (Part 1) by Gary 'Spider' Webb closes 'Make Mine Mondo! 2.' It's a novelty track produced by Herb Newman, that was released on Bamboo, in 1961. However, it isn't up to the standard of the majority of the tracks, and it's a disappointing way to close the compilation.
Musical impresarios and mavericks like Lew Bedell ran their own record companies, and were constantly looking for new and exciting music to release. That was what Bedell set out to do when he founded Era Records in 1955, and continued to do when he parted company with his cousin Herb in May 1959.
With a steely eyed determination, Bedell set about turning Doré Records into one of the leading independent labels in America. Through hard work and sheer determination succeeded in doing so. Part of his success was realising that music was constantly evolving, and not getting trapped in the past. Bedell constantly reacted to changes in musical fashion and sometimes, and sometimes, was a musical trendsetter.
These changes are documented on the new Ace's new compilation Make Mine Mondo! 2 which features twenty-eight tracks. This includes rock 'n' roll, rockabilly, garage rock, psychedelia plus instrumentals and novelty songs. The eclectic selection of singles on Make Mine Mondo! 2 are proof that Bedell was willing to react to the changes in musical tastes. That was the only way a record label could survive and thrive during the late-fifties and sixties.
Just like any label, Doré Records needed singles, and Bedell went in search of new artists and bands. Some of his new signings were up-and-coming bands, others were established artists that joined Doré Records' roster. Some enjoyed a degree of success, while commercial success eluded some of the artists on Make Mine Mondo!
Some of these artists that feature on Make Mine Mondo! 2 released several singles, while others played a walk-on part on the history of Doré Records. This includes several artists who only released a couple of singles, but often they're oft-overlooked hidden gems. So too are some of the B-Side and unreleased tracks on Make Mine Mondo! 2 which is yet another reminder of Lew Bedell's Doré Records, which for twenty-five years, was one the leading American independent record label.
Make Mine Mondo! 2.
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