Witchy Woman

Nelson Riddle & his Orchestra - "Witchcraft!" (1965) - Pickwick 

Hello friends,

October's here and we're celebrating Halloween all month long here on Vinyl in the Valley!

Best known for his soundtracks and famous arrangements for the likes of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Linda Ronstadt, et al, Nelson Riddle actually had a pretty successful recording career himself!

The highlights on this LP are his lush and jazzy instrumental versions of the title track, "It's So Nice to Have A Man Around the House", "You Fascinate Me So", "Darn That Dream", "Blue Safari" and especially, "Playboy's Theme".

The instrumentation is big in spots and sublime in others.  The devil's in the details like the vibraphone in "Darn That Dream", for instance, or the background guitar on "Blue Safari".  

And check out this little minx on the LP's cover... nothing says dim the lights, light some candles and fire up the old Ouijia Board like a sexy brunette, a black cat, and a cigarette-smoking skull!

"Nice pussy"

RATING: 4.5 cigarette-smoking skulls out of 5