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DOMINIC BEHAN-IRELAND SINGS (Pye). Dominic Behan is no ethnic purist. He collects his folk songs from pubs and distant relations, writing new verses and choruses to fill gaps or just to please himself. The result is fresh, lively, and as richly Irish as a pint of Guinness.
THE SOUND OF SCOTLAND (Pye). For once not a piper passes—just Scottish reels, jigs, quicksteps and hornpipes played by Jim MacLeod and his band.
ROYAL NATIONAL EISTEDDFOD OF WALES-1964 (His Master's Voice). The Welsh are unsurpassed as choral singers, and the Eisteddfod is a singing and poetry competition that has celebrated that talent since 1176.
DANCE TO THE MORTIER ORGAN (Decca). For mechanical-music enthusiasts, a 112-key, 561-pipe dance organ built before World War II in Antwerp. After years of touring Belgium it came to rest in Norfolk, where it now grinds out such flowery favorites as The Yellow Rose of Texas and Tulips from Amsterdam.
TRAMWAY SOUNDS (Argo). Car No. 502 (Roberts body, Malsey & Tauton type 588 truck with a 9-ft. wheelbase) clanks through Sheffield on one side of this 45 r.p.m.; the flip side has various types of Glasgow tramcars negotiating points and crossings in Argyle Street in January 1958.
Italy
CIAO, RUDY (RCA Italiana). The original cast album of Rome's recent musical comedy based on the life of Rudolf Valentino, in which Marcello Mastroianni played (and actually sang) the part of the Latin Lover.
I POSTEGGIATORE Dl NAPOLI (Ricordi). The Wandering Musicians of Naples is just that—a collection of the most popular local restaurant singers, a kind of pasta pasticcio.
ROMA MIA (Ricordi). Lando Fiorini, who starred on Broadway in Rugantino, sings Roman restaurant favorites.
'A CANZONE 'E NAPULE (La Voce del Padrone). The Song of Naples sung by the late great tenor Beniamino Gigli—a reissue.
LE CANZONI Dl TITO SCHIPA (La Voce del Padrone). Another fine reissue of standards sung by a great Italian tenor out of the past.
LA MESSA DEI GIOVANI (Ariel). The Mass of the Young is about as far out as an LP can get. Three big-beat groups sing an entire Mass accompanied by electric guitars. The Latins call it the Messa Ye Ye, and it had its world premiere April 27 in a Rome church while youngsters frugged in the aisles and priests clapped hands.
Portugal
SEMPRE QUE LISBOA CANTA (Columbia). Each Time Lisbon Sings, a 10-in. LP fado sampler sung by Carlos Ramos (Lisbon's most popular male fadista), Augusto Camacho (a professor who specializes in the Coimbra fado of university students), Maria de Lourdes Machado and the internationally famous Amalia Rodrigues.
MARIA TERESA DE NORONHA (Columbia). Considered the best female fadista in Portugal after Amália, Maria Teresa de Noronha was the first to revive the old, aristocratic fado. She is a countess, performs only at charity events and on TV.
POPFADO (Philips). Fado with a modern beat, sung by Maria de Fé, 24.
Spain
ANTOLOGIA DEL CANTE FLAMENCO (Hispavox). This box of three 10-in. LPs won a Grand Prix de 1'Académie Française du Disque, and is a serious effort to chronicle and preserve the various traditional flamenco styles. It comes with a detailed history and commentary in Spanish, French and English.
Poland