Original Casino Royale Soundtrack Album Found Circa 1967 Vintage

 Just got back from the Post Office sending out a find of mine. Yes , another Garage Sale special. The original Casino Royale  soundtrack album. Let me try and explain. There are people who one could call audiophiles. They love sound from their audio equipment. Exotic tube amps , turntables  , thousand dollar plus speakers adorn their homes. My Bose system on my computer they might well label as simply adequate.. I know a couple. Putting better speakers in my current Chevy for when I listen to jazz doesn't make it for these people. They can sometimes be obsessed purists. The unopened record I discovered in a pile of old 60's and 70's records was for some a true find. Again let me try and explain. The original Casino Royale movie was a comedy. It starred Woody Allen , Orson Wells , David Niven and of course Peter Sellers. If you ever see it one can  quickly notice that it is a movie made to try and fit the 60's era. The attempt by older artists attempting to be relevant to the younger crowd was a bomb. Some critics  found a deeper meaning to it all but not to a larger audience. The film score was by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It produced a low level hit by Herb Alpert  with the Casino Royale theme. But buried in it was a soulful tune called The Look Of love. It was sung by Dusty Springfield then at the height of her career. At her death a few years ago Elton John said he felt she was the best white soul singer of the  latter half of the 20th century. Now the secret of this album.....she re-recorded this song a couple of months later and that version is the one most have heard.  According to some the superior version is on vinyl on this album. It has been described as more breathy etc etc. So a treasured oddity this recording has become for a few  obsessed audiophiles. I sold it sight unseen , as is. Though unopened one can never be sure what conditions this album has endured. After all it has to be over 40 yrs old. But it seemed flat as a pancake and the cover was well preserved , a psychodelic artist drawing of a Bond girl. You can Google it. I will let  John open it himself , examine the grooves  and receive his full exotic pleasure from it all. He plans to play it for his long suffering wife on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas.

Hudson Hawk's Sangria

OK ,  by request my sangria receipt. The first concept  to remember  is there are tons of receipts for sangria most quite good. don't shy away from an experiment or two. Secondly sangria has been used for centuries to make cheap wine tolerable. So , my advice is to not get hung up on an expensive vintage.I often use The Naked Grape variety or  a red from Gallo....that's right Gallo. I don't buy a $ 25.00 bottle to throw in , I leave that for wine snobs.  Third is to remember that aging helps taste. 3  hrs of aging   your pitcher full in the fridge makes a real difference.

1. 2 bottles of red wine

2.  half cup of brandy

3. One quarter cup triple sec

4. One  cup orange juice

5. One and a half cups ginger ale

6. Half cup of sugar {optional}

7. Couple of pineapple slices cut up

8. One orange cut up peels and all

9. One apple cut up skins and all

10. Six to eight marachino cheery and pour a little juice from the bottle in as well

11. I drop a cinnamon stick in and let it set in the mixture for a couple of minutes , then remove.

12. Let sit for a few minutes  then stir slightly and refrigerate. Stir again before serving.

 Of course you can add other fruits like seedless grapes but don't go overboard , the wine is the most important part. If you try it I hope you enjoy.