| Vongole Fisarmonica | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1992 at Globe Studios | |||
| Genre | Rock, pop, polka | |||
| Length | 32:56 | |||
| Label | Globe Records | |||
| Producer | Paul Rogers | |||
| Those Darn Accordions chronology | ||||
| ||||
Vongole Fisarmonica is the debut album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released in 1992 by Globe Records. The album was originally released only on cassette tape before later being made available for digital download on iTunes and similar digital media stores.
Showcasing a seventeen-member line-up, Vongole Fisarmonica documents TDA at the peak of their early formation as a mostly instrumental mass accordion ensemble, before bandleader Paul Rogers would start restructuring the group into a tighter ten-member rock band for their subsequent album, Squeeze This! . In contrast to the rest of TDA's discography, Vongole Fisarmonica primarily consists of cover songs, tackling TDA's typical fare of classic polkas and offbeat covers of hard rock and pop songs. The album contains two original songs in "Lithuania" and "Chicken Boy Polka", as well as a parody of Arthur Godfrey 's "Too Fat Polka", re-written as "Too Smart Polka".
The title of the album is Italian for "Accordion Clams". According to member Tom Torriglia, musicians would often call mistakes "clams". [1]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Also sprach Zarathustra/Viva Las Vegas" | R. Strauss/D. Pomus/M. Shuman | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Stairway to Heaven" | J. Page/R. Plant | 4:13 |
| 3. | "Walk, Don't Run" | J. Smith | 1:54 |
| 4. | "The Beer Barrel Polka" | L. Brown/W. Timm | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Too Smart Polka" | R. MacLean/A. Richardson | 2:19 |
| 6. | "Lithuania" | P. Rogers | 2:22 |
| 7. | "It's Now or Never" | W. Gold/A. Schroeder/E. di Capua | 3:18 |
| 8. | "Duck Dance" | W. Thomas | 4:39 |
| 9. | "It's Not Unusual" | L. Reed/G. Mills | 2:07 |
| 10. | "Chicken Boy Polka" | P. Rogers/T. Torriglia | 2:23 |
| 11. | "Perry Mason Theme" | F. Steiner | 2:34 |
| Total length: | 32:56 | ||
|
|
Brave Combo is a polka fusion band based in Denton, Texas. Founded in 1979 by guitarist/keyboardist/accordionist Carl Finch, they have been a prominent fixture in the Texas music scene for more than thirty-five years. Their music, both originals and covers, incorporates a number of dance styles, mostly polka, but also some Latin American and Caribbean styles like norteño, salsa, rumba, cha-cha-cha, choro, samba, two-step, cumbia, charanga, merengue, ska, etc, all performed with a rock/worldbeat energy.
"Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D is the second studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on February 28, 1984, by Rock 'n Roll Records. The album was one of many produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between October and December 1983, the album was Yankovic's follow-up to his modestly successful debut LP, "Weird Al" Yankovic.
"Dance to the Music" is a 1967 hit single by soul/funk/rock band Sly and the Family Stone for the Epic/CBS Records label. It was the first single by the band to reach the Billboard Pop Singles Top 10, peaking at #8 and the first to popularize the band's sound, which would be emulated throughout the black music industry and dubbed "psychedelic soul". It was later ranked #223 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
"Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" is a funk song by Parliament. It was released as a single under the name "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)". It was the second single to be released from Parliament's 1975 album Mothership Connection (following "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"). With its anthemic sing-along chorus, it is one of the most famous P-Funk songs. It also became Parliament's first certified million-selling single, going Gold in 1976.
"Beer Barrel Polka", originally in Czech "Škoda lásky", also known as "The Barrel Polka", "Roll Out the Barrel", or "Rosamunde", is a 1927 polka composed by Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda. Lyrics were added in 1934, subsequently gaining worldwide popularity during World War II as a drinking song.
"Fire" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in early 1967. It has been described as "an exercise in soul, psychedelic rock, and polyrhythmic jazz-inspired drumming" by AllMusic critic Matthew Greenwald. The song was remixed in stereo for the American release of the album. In 1969, it was released as a stereo single in the UK with the title "Let Me Light Your Fire".
Those Darn Accordions, commonly abbreviated as TDA, are an American accordion band from San Francisco, California, originally formed in 1989 by Linda "Big Lou" Seekins.
Jack the Lad were a British folk rock group from North East England formed in 1973 by three former members of the most successful band of the period from the region, Lindisfarne. They moved from the progressive folk rock of Lindisfarne into much more traditional territory and were in the mid-1970s something of a northern counterpart to bands like Fairport Convention. They have also been seen as part of an important roots movement, rediscovering traditional Northumbrian music.
"Squeeze Box" is a song by the Who from their album The Who by Numbers. Written by Pete Townshend, the lyrics are couched in sexual double entendres. Unlike many of the band's other hits, the song features country-like elements, as heard in Townshend's banjo picking.
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American comedy musician, writer, and actor. He is best known for writing and performing comedy songs that often parody specific songs by contemporary musicians. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts, as well as polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.
Hatest Grits: B-Sides And Bullshit is a compilation album by Californian punk rock band Swingin' Utters.
The Dreadnoughts are a Canadian 6-piece folk punk band from Vancouver. The band combines a wide range of European folk music with modern street punk. The band has seven full-length albums and three EPs on various labels, and has played around 500 shows in around 30 countries. They also used to perform before 2020 as a traditional polka band at polka festivals, under the name "Polka Time!". Their performance peak was in 2010, when 180 shows were played.
Squeeze This! is the second studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released in 1994 on Flying Fish Records. This was the only TDA album to be released on Flying Fish, as the rest of the band's discography was released by the Petaluma-based independent label Globe Records.
No Strings Attached is the third studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released on June 18, 1996 by Globe Records.
Clownhead is the fourth studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released on August 10, 1999, by Globe Records.
Amped is an EP by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released on January 22, 2002, by Globe Records.
Lawnball is the fifth studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released on July 20, 2004, by Globe Records.
Squeeze Machine is the sixth studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released on September 18, 2007, by Globe Records.
"Too Fat Polka" is a novelty song by Ross MacLean and Arthur Richardson. The song is known for its recurrent chorus, "I don't want her, you can have her, she's too fat for me."
