 Gentleman Jim & the Palace Pit Orchestra "Be the hit of the party with this fun-filled program," the back cover enthuses, and immediately I try to visualize an actual 60s party where this album might've been used in earnest. Vague images of young Angie Dickenson look-alikes blur in what appears to be a dimly-lit living room or den in a ranch-style house. Unfortunately, my mind can only channel this scenario for roughly one second before things go black, and I'm transported back to my comfy listening couch, trying to make it through an entire sitting of Music to Strip By. Old stripper-music albums are trendy once again, thanks to anything related to vintage porn now currently fetching collector's prices. Granted, I believe I've got three or so such albums in my collection, though the necessity of owning even one is hardly justifiable. Even in those very rare moments when I do start to feel "frisky" can I say I've ever grabbed a Gentleman Jim album and placed it on the turntable while downing a bottleof scotch? Uh-oh, I'm in over my head here … next paragraph, please. So how does Music to Strip By hold up, either in comparison or on its own? It's pretty much what you'd expect … 12 songs, all with Dixieland instrumentation, all vaguely sounding like the classic "The Stripper." Yes, "The Stripper" is included, though this version is played much faster than normal, and without much of the chutzpah and, nowadays, safe, rowdiness that you'd expect. More like a "hurry it up with the song, fellas, my wife's pulling up the driveway" – feel free to complete that scenario as you'd like, as it currently has me both bemused and confused. No other songs stay in memory as soon as the needle is lifted off the vinyl, though the overall atmospheric aftertaste is like watching a montage of Tina Louise clips from "Gilligan's Island" at the very end of your life. Odds are this record will never be listened to again in my lifetime, though the wonderfully awkward cover, depecting a heavily-made up late-60s model whose age I can't even begin to estimate, looking incredibly half-hearted with hand on hip, is worth the one dollar I probably originally paid for this. I would, however, happily donate this album to any strip club that would offer to start playing music like this again, instead of all the dam Miami bass & 80s metal they incessantly play … er, or so I hear they play … yes that's it.
Review by AAA |