365 DAYS PROJECT

2003   AUGUST 15   #227




Basil Wolverton - I'm Always Chasing Rainbows

The lyrics of this song alone are amusing to say the least. Then add Basil's comments through the song and his ukulele playing, really makes for a fun recording. One thing about the ukulele, it always sounds like a toy instrument making the song sound whimsical. From the very beginning I like this with the great clearing of the throat, to basil introducing the song as "why should I wait for the cheese to age when there is molding around the ceiling now". Maybe he shouldn't have eaten so much cheese before he recorded this, he does clear his throat several time through the song. Then you have him dragging out syllables like raaain bowwwwws. At this point I am hooked and it just gets better, this must have been a one and only take. You don't get that feel of looseness from take after take to get it perfect.

"Would you like to hear it a second time "

"here comes the tuff part"

"whoops"

- The Tod

TT-3:32 / 3.2MB / 128kbps 44.1khz


(Image courtesy of The TOD)

Markus Lloyd writes:
No great insights, but playing Basil Wolverton"s I"m Always Chasing Rainbows back to back with Larry Krone"s I Can't Do Anything/Over the Rainbow, featured on 365 days on 22 July, bridges 50 odd years seamlessly. Is there some strange time traveling occurrence occurring here? Whatever, it"s weirdly delightful. Thanks Otis and The TOD.

Monte Wolverton writes:
Nice audio clip of my Dad. The small 33 rpm Wolvertunes record was published in 1992 by Sympathy for the Record Industry and is copyright Monte Wolverton 1992. The record, which had two other tracks on it, was produced and distributed by Ray Zone who specializes in 3D comics, The jacket was in 3D and came with a pair of glasses. The photos of my father, which came from the record jacket, Ray apparently copied from a bad video copy of a home movie my dad had made. But that's okay -- it all contributes to the mystique. Ray took the audio from a tape that my dad made when he was fooling around with his baritone uke one night in the early 1970's. Back in the late 1920's my father was in vaudeville in Portland and Seattle with a one-man act called "Goof and His Uke." http://www.wolvertoon.com/toons