Here Come The Hits!

I've got several of these "Ronnie Aldrich and his Two Pianos" albums and I've seen lots of other ones in my travels around thrift stores from Cleveland to California. The basic idea seems to be that Ronnie Aldrich plays a handful of popular tunes using not one but two pianos (often done up in extreme left-right stereo separation for your convenience). It's not entirely clear whether Ronnie is playing both pianos himself, but given the considerable technical wizardry of the "Phase 4 Stereo" concept that seems to be the cornerstone of this production, almost anything is possible.

Most of Aldrich's albums are really pretty lame, but Here Come The Hits has what it takes to entertain me: the right combination of cheesy pop hits and a groovy psychedelic jacket mural (could those polka-dotted mushrooms be an accident?) Joining forces with the London Festival Orchestra, Aldrich covers tunes like Venus, Sugar Sugar, Arizona, and Bridge Over Troubled Waters. A sappy version of the Lennon/McCarney tune Because is one of a pair of Beatle covers on the album. According to the liner notes, "These arrangements will attract music fans of all interests --those who like 'pop' with the orchestral sound, and those who know little of the 'pop' scene but know a good tune when they hear one".

Here Come The Hits is recorded in fabulous Phase 4 Stereo, a "radically new and dynamic concept in the art of high fidelty reproduction" that's described in painstaking detail on the inside of the beautiful fold-out album jacket. My theory is that reading an essay about 20 track musical recording, written to sound technical without actually being terribly accurate or specific, was meant to enahnce the listening experience, probably by causing the listener to focus on the sound quality rather than the artistic content of the music. In my case, it seems to have worked.

Smorgy Fjeldsted (sfjeldst@sjvls.lib.ca.us) says:
Ronnie Aldrich could probably play two organs at once too--even without multi-tracking. His technical wizardry is that, er... ambidextrous. But, I must admit, for sheer gruesomeness, his version of Whiter Shade of Pale has been far surpassed by the Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings who beat it to death even worse. They probably weren't using both hands though. (02-02-2000)

esquivel says:
heard instead of here comes the hits, they wanted to be honest and call it hear comes the shit, but the rackjobbers wouldnt let em. (04-19-1999)

Andres Leitner (Andres_Leitner@usa.net) says:
Exelente idea la de publicar discos tan extraños. Mepareció fantastica la seccion de moog, solo faltarian algunos discos clasicos de rock (11-12-1998)

Luis Alfaro (lalfaro@abaconet.com.ar) says:
Muy buena es la pagina creada por vos. (10-27-1998)

Stewart Milaeger (stewart_mil@hotmail.com) says:
I was wondering if anyone has both a full version (with words) of In-A-Gotta-Da-Vida and Sugar Sugar, just E-mail it of them to me. Thank you in advance. (10-19-1998)

Titus Groan says:
London Records had FFRR, FFSS and Phase 4...they acted like they were always at the forefront of the recording art... Speaking of twin pianos, remember Ferrante and Teicher? They cranked out hundreds of albums for various labels in the '50s and '60s. I heard an old Columbia 78 of Art & Lou playing Sousa's "Semper Fidelis" march and it was actually pretty good...at one point in the record, one of them plucked the strings of his piano. Wonder what became of F&T...I think they're both still alive and performing. By the way, London Records also gave us such schlockmeisters as Frank Chacksfield and ugh, Mantovani... (09-23-1998)

Derryn (dewibe@yahoo.com) says:
I first heard Ronnie Aldrich when I borrowed my uncle`s tape,( He was an international performer and sang with alot of the greats of his time) and had a listen. I`m in to this kind of music, it does something to you when you listen to it...anyway, I`m wondering if any one out there could help me find some of Ronnie`s tapes...I live in Sydney, Australia, and can be contacted via my e-mail...many thanks to you! dewibe@yahoo.com (09-22-1998)

eric m. u. says:
does any one here know that the beastie boys have a large vinyl collection, and they used that "phase 4" 20 channel grapic on the back of their new album "Hello Nasty" i got mine on yellow vinyl (09-14-1998)

Claudio (cvazquez@internet.siscotl.com) says:
It is nice to see something bout Ronnie in the Net. Good. Ronnie really recorded both pianos. Being friends for nearly two decades, till he died in 1994, I learnt much about his work. Here Come the Hits is part of the Two-Disc set known in Britain as Togetherness. The other disc was released in the I do States as Close to You. I do think that the artistic contents of his albums, specially the albums recorded in the ´70s is excellent. He made all the arrangements, orchestrations and played both pianos. (07-10-1998)

Fr Francis M.J. Fernandez (cea@giasmd01.vsnl.net.in) says:
I just happened to see your web site. I have a good collection of Twin Pianos of Ronnie Aldrich, some 20 of them, I think. But all in audio cassettes. Could you please inform me where I can get them in CDs. I enjoy Ronnie Aldrich and his Twin Pianos. Beautiful Stereo Effect. Thanking you in anticipation, Fr Francis, Cochin, Kerala,INDIA (06-28-1998)

SumOldPutz says:
Ronnie Aldrich makes me want to strap on my Depends undergarments, take a handful of Viagra and get busy!!! (05-08-1998)

Sir Droopy Drawers says:
Here comes my lunch! (03-18-1998)

jonny (fredkatz@westworld.com) says:
Truly amazing. His version of 'Something' is so unique and the original 'Girl on the Via Veneto' is timeless. And the cover is pure joy! (03-16-1998)

Lenny Kravitz says:
This are the best versions i've ever heard !!! (03-05-1998)

David Hiles (dhiles1@hotmail.com) says:
You know what I love about the net? It validates some of my insanity. When I read the review of this record, I went and got my copy of Two Pianos- TODAY! which by the way was 1968. It has a dreadfully lame "Whiter Shade of Pale". I thought I was the only one who truly appreciated this crap. I'm listening to it now, and I think someone just strangled a duck. The London Festival Orchestra featured on this record was a bunch of musicians dragged in to London Record's studios whenever they needed horns and strings. There was no orchestra called the London Festival Orchestra. Probably the most well known record this non-existent orchestra played on was the Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed." That record is still pretty popular you know. Not band for an orchestra that never existed. (02-07-1998)

David Morrison (morrison@uniserve.com) says:
I still have a couple of "phase four" stereo rcords. You are right - the album jacket is more enteraining than the "music" on the album itself. (12-14-1997)

Rick says:
Re: Sugar, Sugar Aiee! It's 1968, I'm in an elevator, with my Dad, and he's tapping his foot to this groovy tune!! (11-06-1997)

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