Various Artist - The Warner-Reprise 'Looney Tunes' (US 1970)

Who’s Your Music Daddy??

Probably one of the more fondly remembered releases in the Loss Leader series… for those who acted fast enough to snag one, anyway. A big, colorful, 3LP box set, with some of the era’s best new music, all for 3 bucks… postage paid! 

It lavishly spoke to the inherent greed in all record collectors and music lovers. And just look at that track list. There’s barely an unknown name or non-classic in the bunch (well, a few… but not many). As usual, the liner notes are a great read from a historical perspective, as Warners reports that the “recently emerged” Black Sabbath (with singer John Osbourne) “has made our sales department very happy.” 

And an advance, non-LP single from The Faces (“Real Good Time”) isn’t even officially penciled in for the band’s next album yet. One record that caught my attention is John Simon’s album (that’s the name of it, by the way, John Simon’s Album). The famed producer for Big Brother, BS&T, Leonard Cohen, The Band and a slew of others, is joined by Leon Russell, Jim Gordon and Delaney Bramlett for his 1970 debut LP. 

To illustrate the Loss Leaders series’ grand design, I immediately went online to find a copy of it. Of course, that’s not exactly what Warners had in mind back in the 70s, but the concept’s mojo is still working its magic. As mentioned previously on #5 Schlagers!, Looney Tunes And Merrie Melodies claims it’s the 4th release in the series, but the catalog number (PRO423) suggests it was actually the 7th release, so until we find some definitive answers about the actual release order, you’ll have to take our numbering-by-catalog number system with a grain of salt.

Unfortunately, none of Warners’ artwork or liners after this point offer any specifics regarding numbering or running order, so apparently even WB gave up making any linear/numerical sense of the series by this point.

Side 1: 5.5 Richter and Above

01. FM Radio Spot It’s The Plastic (1:03)

02. Faces Real Good Time (5:52)
03. Black Sabbath Paranoid (2:48)
04. Little Feat Strawberry Flats (2:22)
05. Hard Meat Smile As You Go Under (3:04)
06. Fleetwood Mac Tell Me All The Things You Do (4:13)
07. Jimi Hendrix Stepping Stone (4:15)

Side 2: Resident Writers and Reapers Of Wry Kudos
01. John Simon The Elves’ Song (4:31)
02. Ry Cooder Alimony (2:56)
03. Randy Newman Let’s Burn Down The Cornfield (3:02)
04. Gordon Lightfoot Me And Bobby McGee (3:42)
05. Jimmy L. Webb P. F. Sloan (4:05)
06. Performance Soundtrack (Jack Nitzsche) Harry Flowers (4:03)

Side 3: Breadwinners and Other Staples
01. FM Radio Spot Chip Dip (1:02)
02. Little Richard I Saw Her Standing There (3:29)
03. The Grateful Dead Sugar Magnolia (3:17)
04. Van Morrison Call Me Up In Dreamland (3:54)
05. The Kinks Apeman (3:52)
067. Arlo Guthrie Valley To Pray (2:47)
07. The Beach Boys It’s About Time (3:01)

Side 4: California Antacid Rock
01. The Youngbloods It’s A Lovely Day (2:37)
02. Jeffrey Cain Houndog Turkey (2:51)
03. Lovecraft Love Has Come To Me (3:05)
04. Sweetwater Just For You (9:39)

Side 5: Avant and National Guard
01. Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Lick My Decals Off, Baby (2:39)
02. The Mothers Of Invention Directly From My Heart To You (5:18)
03. Alice Cooper Return Of The Spiders (4:30)
04. Frank Zappa Would You Go All The Way? (2:30)
05. Beaver and Krause Spaced (3:51)
06. Pearls Before Swine The Jeweler (2:46)

Side 6: Electric Jesus
01. Beaver and Krause Sanctuary (1:46)
02. James Taylor Lo And Behold (2:35)
03. Harpers Bizarre If We Ever Needed The Lord Before (2:56)
04. Van Dyke Parks On The Rolling Sea When Jesus Speak To Me (2:28)
05. The Persuasions It’s All Right (3:28)
06. Turley Richards I Heard The Voice Of Jesus (6:59)

Part 1: Looney Tunes

Part 2: Looney Tunes

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