I never thought I’d fine a record weirder & closer to my heart than that seashell pronunciation LP from a while back but I’m pretty sure this Canine Heart Sounds album trumps it. It’s pretty literal with its title and minimal in its jacket design. Then again, it was put out by a pharmaceutical company and I don’t think they’re usually known for their creativity.
The sounds on here are incredible, starting out with normal heartbeats which could be used for lullabies or an homage to Gas. Later on the sounds get more & more irregular, and by the end of the record, you hear dogs with severe heart problems and their beats could be thrown down without alterations at your next dance party.
So the sounds are super fucking awesome but there’s the whole reality of it that you’re listening to these poor dogs who aren’t doin so hot. :(
There’s a narrator, Stephen Ettinger, who explains what’s going on for each sound, so this is definitely an educational record for vets and animal surgeons and whatnot. I’ll probably edit out all of his talking at some point like I did with the Sounds Of Insects, but I was too fuckin psyched about this record to wait to post it and I didn’t have enough time for superfluous editing.
Wow. I have this album too, and snippets from it were staples on my Eighties and Nineties mix tapes. My friend was going to digitize my copy, but found your site – we are so impressed that someone else had already digitized it! I love the hardcore Boston accent of the guy on the LP – the heartbeats are cool, but the narration is highly entertaining as well. Edit it out if you must, but I think it’s delightful.
Now I can’t wait to check out Seashell Pronunciation.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Glad you’re enjoying it! The accent is pretty entertaining but I feel like it would be good to get into a groove with just the heartbeats. To each his own, though! And I hope you dig the seashell one as much as I do. One of my all time favorites.
That’s very good.
This is my Dad’s record. He is from Queens originally but recorded it in California in the 70s. Any chance you’d sell it to me?
That’s awesome that this is your dad! I’m not willing to sell my copy, but there are a bunch on Discogs (as low as $5).