Anyone fancy compiling a Van Dyke Parks best of?

[willy]

Anyone fancy compiling a Van Dyke Parks "Best of..." for a bit of fun?

I've only included stuff from his solo albums + Orange Crate Art. Please feel free to add any soundtrack work, early singles, or other collaborations. A separate disc of productions would be great too (Esso, Sparrow, Goldie Hawn, Kathy Dalton, even work on SMiLE sessions, etc), I'll maybe do that later. But for now... here's mine...

Vine Street    - Song Cycle
Manzanar - Tokyo Rose
Opportunity For Two - Jump!
Amazing Grace (Toe-Tapper) - Clang Of The Yankee Reaper
Ode To Tobago - Discover America
After The Ball - Jump!
Another Dream - Clang Of The Yankee Reaper
Sail Away - Orange Crate Art
Hominy Grove - Jump!
Night In The Tropics - Moonlighting
An Invitation To Sin - Jump!
Tokyo Rose - Tokyo Rose
Palm Desert - Song Cycle
Orange Crate Art - Orange Crate Art
Cowboy - Tokyo Rose
The Attic - Song Cycle
Danza - Moonlighting
City On The Hill - Clang Of The Yankee Reaper
Calypso - Tokyo Rose
Pass That Stage - Clang Of The Yankee Reaper
Donovan's Colours - Song Cycle

[Camus]

Gotta have San Francisco from Orange Crate Art on there surely?

[rab2591]

The Songs, Lyrics, Voice, and Arrangements of Van Dyke Parks

1. Occapella - Discover America
2. Palm Tree and Moon - Orange Crate Art
3. By The People - Song Cycle
4. Night In The Tropics - Moonlighting
5. Wonderful - SMiLE (2011  )
6. Overture - An Invitation
7. Ode To Tobago - Discover America
8. Colours - Song Cycle
9. Orange Crate Art - Moonlighting
10. Wings Of A Dove - Orange Crate Art
11. A Day In The Life Of A Tree - Surf's Up
12. Sweet Trinidad - Discover America
13. Wind Chimes - Smiley Smile
14. All I Want Is You - Rattle and Hum
15. Surf's Up - BWPS
16. Night Happens - An Invitation

[A Million Units In Jan!]

The All Golden

[Jason]

The Brave Little Toaster soundtrack.

[rab2591]

The Brave Little Toaster soundtrack.

That was my favorite movie growing up! Had no idea VDP had a hand in that!

[punkinhead]

Where's Come to the Sunshine?

I'd also add Wall Street.

And if I'd heard it before: Number Nine

[rab2591]

There is plenty of Parks material that I haven't heard - his name pops up everywhere in places you wouldn't expect (U2, ^^^Brave Little Toaster, and plenty more) - Honestly, it's like Christmas everytime I hear about a new (or old) VDPs song - and I seem to hear about one every week!

[A Million Units In Jan!]

He was also arranger of the live action 'Popeye' movie!
Also, don't forget 'Black Sheep' from the Dewey Cox movie. Sounds like it came right from the SMiLE album!

[hypehat]

He was also arranger of the live action 'Popeye' movie!
Also, don't forget 'Black Sheep' from the Dewey Cox movie. Sounds like it came right from the SMiLE album!

Those Popeye songs were written by Harry Nilsson, in case anyone doesn't know.

Speaking of Harry, VDP also arranged and was credited as 'Maestro' on the Duit On Mon Dei album, and is in the band for it's similarly boozy follow up, Sandman.

Does anyone have the b sides to his early singles? Do What You Wanta is apparently rather Motown, which is interesting. and the two films scores he did, i keep meaning to find them cheap somewhere.

His arrangement/production of Anything Goes for Harpers Bizarre is also insanely good. Any best of would have to contain his other production/lyrical/arrangement contributions, too.

This is too hard! I got to 30 tracks and thought it was time to stop.....

[dogear]

Hundreds of tracks as arranger, producer and player on other people's records. For details check my last update on www.vandykeparks.com/works which includes everything (I hope) up to the beginning of 2010, when Jan Jansen quit as webmaster of the VDP site. Since then nobody seems to take care of it.

[rab2591]

Hundreds of tracks as arranger, producer and player on other people's records. For details check my last update on www.vandykeparks.com/works

Amazing website, btw. I have frequented it quite a bit for lyrics/updates/etc.

Did not know he worked with Ringo! Jeesh, Van Dyke Parks makes the music industry seem like a very small world!

[dogear]

Hundreds of tracks as arranger, producer and player on other people's records. For details check my last update on www.vandykeparks.com/works

Amazing website, btw. I have frequented it quite a bit for lyrics/updates/etc.

True, but as I said, it has gone to sleep since early 2010, except for a couple of tour dates.

[pancakerecords]

He also did all the music for "Harold & the Purple Crayon" and "Follow That Bird".

[rab2591]

Hundreds of tracks as arranger, producer and player on other people's records. For details check my last update on www.vandykeparks.com/works

Amazing website, btw. I have frequented it quite a bit for lyrics/updates/etc.

True, but as I said, it has gone to sleep since early 2010, except for a couple of tour dates.

That's sad. I hope someone will take the helm soon.

Anyone know of any future VDPs albums/collaborations?

[shelter]

All I know is that 'Clang of the Yankee Reaper' should be on there. That's one of my all-time favorite songs.

[willy]

There will be an all new, all golden, Bananastan website appearing shortly to promote various VDP-related albums.

[Myk Luhv]

Discover America is not getting enough love. "Bing Crosby", "FDR in Trinidad" and "Occapella" are all great! (Actually, the entire album is good enough that I'd just make the 'greatest hits' compilation a two-fer of Song Cycle and the aforementioned album, with some additional tracks for variety.)

[hypehat]

So I finally did this in Spotify yesterday (I'm bored, alright?), taking into account a few exceptions due to the patches in it's library. So the playlist gets most of it, apart from the rarer things.

High Coin -  The Career Of Van Dyke Parks (2 Discs, probably)
http://open.spotify.com/user/hyp3hat/playlist/10BywWvnZnGt4xKeMzIWSl

1. Jump!
2. Come to the Sunshine (Harpers Bizarre in the playlist, but would rather his own)
3. Do What You Wanta (Again, not on Spotify. Or anywhere, in fact. PM?)
4. Number Nine (Not on Spotify, again. But i wanted it there).
5. Sit Down, I Think I Love You - The Mojo Men (Arranged/Produced)
6. Anything Goes - Harpers Bizarre (Arranged)
7. Heroes & Villains (Alternate Version)
8. Cabinessence
9. Surf's Up (1971)
10. Vine Street
11. Song Cycle suite - Widows Walk/Laurel Canyon Blvd./The All Golden/Van Dyke Parks
12. Davy The Fat Boy - Randy Newman (Produced, Arranged)
-Hidden Bonus- Datsun Commercial
13. Stars & Stripes Forever
14. Bing Crosby
15. The Four Mills Brothers
16. Sailin' Shoes
17. FDR in Trinidad.
18. Sail On, Sailor
19. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times & Live? - Ry Cooder (Arranged, first collab with Ry)
20. Chords Of Fame - Phil Ochs (Produced)
Now, it would have been ace to put some Mighty Sparrow or Esso Trinidad Steel Band there, but i've never listened to the albums! Can't find them for love nor (reasonable) money.
21. Cannon In D
22. The Clang of The Yankee Reaper
23. Kojak Columbo - Harry Nilsson (Arranged, plays that funky piano)
24. Jesus Christ You're Tall - Nilsson (Possibly played on, is namechecked)
25. He Needs Me - Shelley Duvall (Written By Nilsson, Arranged by Parks)
26. Hominy Grove
27. Opportunity for Two
28. Cowboy Parks
29. America
30. Orange Crate Art
31. Wings Of A Dove
32. Leaning On Jesus - From The Score of Wild Bill (Not on spotify)
33. Foolish Love - Rufus Wainwright (Arranged)
34. Right As Wrong - Inara George & VDP (Not on Spotify for reasons i can't fathom)
35. Monkey & Bear - Joanna Newsom (Orchestral Arrangements) (as above)
36. What A Wonderful World - Victoria Williams (Arranged)
37. High Coin - Harper's Bizarre

To be released on limited edition 78's and wax cylinder 

[The Heartical Don]

I miss: 'High Coin' (the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, for curiosity's sake, but wonderful on its own too), and the Ice Capades commercial (ideal closer, sooooo weird...).

[willy]

Now, it would have been ace to put some Mighty Sparrow or Esso Trinidad Steel Band there, but i've never listened to the albums! Can't find them for love nor (reasonable) money.

Even from the UK it wasn't too difficult to find these. I highly recommend them if you like anything by VDP. They are both truly joyous albums.

[hypehat]

I can find the Esso Trinidad album a bit cheap on Amazon, but I can't find the Mighty Sparrow one anywhere. Any pointers would be very much appreciated.

[willy]

I can find the Esso Trinidad album a bit cheap on Amazon, but I can't find the Mighty Sparrow one anywhere. Any pointers would be very much appreciated.

Try these (I first got mine on amazon.co.uk about a year ago, though the Sparrow was on the Wounded Bird label, not Bananastan):

http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/label/Bananastan/a/Bananastan

http://www.forcedexposure.com/labels/bananastan.html

[hypehat]

So just bought Esso Trinidad for a tenner thereabouts from Amazon, and with some digging found a reissue of Hot & Sweet too, but i'll pick that up next week as I'm on a budget atm. Thanks for the help, though. It was only a matter of time before I got round to buying them....

*Scours ebay for cheap 'Discover America' vinyl* 

[willy]

Those two albums make a perfect trilogy with Discover America, as you shall soon hear for yourself! Or indeed a quadrilogy with Clang of... Enjoy!