In what I consider a major "coup" for this blog, I've received permission from the great Al Kooper (if you don't know who he is go read this) to post MP3s of his infamous "Kapusta Kristmas Albums". I'm starting with number 3 as I've only got Volumes 3, 4 and 5. Trying to get my mitts on the other two.
Tapes of these records have been a massive influence and source of amusement to me and all my musician friends over the last 20 years or so, since my buddy Mark Spencer gave me my first tape. The titles of all 3 of my solo LPs (as well as the cover art of my newest one "There's No Sound In Flutes") are all based on quotes from tracks contained on them.
Here's a piece from the Houston Chronicle about them that sums the whole thing up pretty well.
"For several years back in the '80s and '90s, rock
and roll keyboard legend Al Kooper had a very cool yuletide custom.
Kooper was (and is) an avid collector of prank calls, celebrity (and
some non-celebrity) bloopers, weird songs, hilarious answering-machine
messages and studio banter, and each December he would press up a few
of the best of them on vinyl and send the albums to the lucky few dozen
people on his Christmas list"
"These were called Al Kooper's Kapusta Kristmas
albums, and they now cost a fortune on eBay. Because of their limited
circulation and high appeal, back in the day most people heard them on
second-, third- and fourth-generation cassettes, and so most people
just called them Al Kooper tapes. The Kooper tapes not only revealed
the darker side of stars like Barry White, Buddy Rich, Casey Kasem and
Orson Welles, they also made a few of their own, such as the bluesy and
quite probably boozy preacher Prophet Omega and the whacked-out and
quite possibly cracked-out music business wannabe proprietor of J&H
Productions."
"Not only are these tapes huge hits as tour-bus entertainment for rock
and country stars, but comedy writers in Hollywood certainly had access
to the Kooper tapes. The running joke in The Simpsons
wherein Bart goads Moe into vitriol-spewing rage by getting him to ask
for patrons like Al Coholic and such was pretty much lifted verbatim
from one of these albums, and Orson Welles's ill-fated frozen peas
commercial was likewise borrowed in an episode of Pinky and the Brain. And on In Living Color,
David Allen Grier and Tommy Davidson's Funky Finger Productions also
seemed to owe a lot of its spirit to the aforementioned J&H
Productions."
So here is "Al Kooper Presents The Third Annual Kapusta Kristmas Album" (a tip of the hat to my friend Brian Talley of Moondog Audio Restoration who provided me with this material which he lovingly digitized from vinyl- he also scanned the covers and labels)
Al Kooper Presents The Third Annual Kapusta Kristmas Album (Al MP3s and Art).zip
Here's the tracklist.
The Dangling Conversation
Bob Welcomes Sam and Natalie to The Meadowlands
Buddy Dearest Part 1
Dean and Jerry Plug "The Caddy"
Buddy Dearest Part 2
Tube Bar
Man Fish
The English Lesson
The Dangling Conversation Part 2
J & H Productions
Buddy Dearest Part 3
Mr JW Relaxes Off Camera
Message On My Answering Machine Worth Sharing
Buddy Dearest Part 4
Buddy Live - The Final Transmission (not sure why it's called this as this is a famous Freddie Hubbard Outtake
Neil Does Chas
Out Chorus
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