A Capella Recommendations, Please

January 8, 2006 1:26 PM

Years ago I heard an album made from an a cappella show produced by, of all people, Spike Lee. It was called Spike & Co. Do It A Cappella. It had some great stuff on it, and I was looking for some recommendations of a cappella music in the same vein, or other flavors...

I particularly remember the version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" that two of the a capella groups did, which I loved particularly. Amazon only has this album as an import (?!) for some reason. Anyway, I am interested in exploring some good a cappella. Please give me some ideas. Thanks in advance.

posted by beth to media & arts (15 comments total)

Er, by "show" I mean, more specifically, a televised concert. Sorry if that wasn't clear. I think it appeared on HBO, but I'm not certain.
posted by beth at 1:27 PM on January 8, 2006

my father listens to a lot of barbershop/a capella. his selections are all crap.

on a more positive note, I might direct you towards university a capella/barbershop groups. they may not be technically impressive, but young men of the sort tend to have a bit more palatable song selection than the old coots putting out albums these days. these groups' albums are probably not commercially available, but I bet they'd send you a copy cheap once you've tracked down a few groups. check club listings at edu websites.

also, rockapella.
posted by carsonb at 1:32 PM on January 8, 2006

You'll want to check out Primarily A Cappella. If it's an a cappella recording and it's commercially available, you'll find it there-- along with reviews, recommendations, and samples.
posted by Zair TL at 1:38 PM on January 8, 2006

Ball In The House. Unbelievably queer name, but pretty impressive performances.
posted by katyggls at 1:43 PM on January 8, 2006

It doesn't seem strange - it's the second half of the sentence I heard most as a child: "No playing ball in the house!

Check out a cappella always and CASA - The Contemporary A Cappella Society, for reviews of albums put out recently.
posted by iconomy at 1:55 PM on January 8, 2006

(so...'stop playing Ball in the House' is actually quite amusing, when you think about it in the right context)
posted by iconomy at 1:56 PM on January 8, 2006

My sister is a founding member of Crapapella (motto: "We Can't Sing Worth Crap!"), Smith College's response to the proliferation of a capella groups at small liberal-arts schools. They are pretty funny, as you can hear for yourself here.

not exactly what you're looking for, but fun nonetheless, I hope.
posted by Dr. Wu at 2:15 PM on January 8, 2006

Moxy Fruvous, DaVinci's Notebook, The Yale Baker's Dozen
posted by The White Hat at 2:48 PM on January 8, 2006

The Flying Pickets are still around, 21 years after their UK Christmas No1 ...
posted by scruss at 3:04 PM on January 8, 2006

Some suggestions via the last.fm a cappella tag (and, hey, a capella and acapella too), and the Mostly Voices and Voice and Piano groups.

I suspect you'll probably also like the Ectophiles' Guide to Good Music (begun by fans of the obscure -- and unfortunately named -- folk singer Happy Rhodes, the quintessential ecto artist seems to be Tori Amos).
posted by dhartung at 3:55 PM on January 8, 2006

Seconding DaVinci's Notebook -- their music is fun and so are they. I also must insert a shameless plug for the University of Maryland generics, of which my husband was a part for years. Best university a cappella i've ever heard, and their CDs rock.
posted by justonegirl at 4:11 PM on January 8, 2006

Obligatory link to the Yale Whiffenpoofs, the oldest college a cappella group, and perhaps the most libationary. But having been to dozens of a cappella concerts during my college years, I found my favorite sound in Shades (download samples from this link).

If the college sound is good to you, try the BOCA collection -- Best of College A Cappella.

But if you really dislike the college scene, I second the vote for Rockapella.
posted by superfem at 6:03 PM on January 8, 2006

Chanticleer. Rockapella too, but Rockapella's much more popular -- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and Folgers ads and stuff. Chanticleer is in the same vein and equally cool, I think, if not as well-known.

The Ten Tenors are, uh, theoretically a cap. Some classical, and also some fun stuff -- "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Rawhide."

The Swingle Singers mimic instruments, and are definitely worth a try for the novelty if nothing else.

England (Oxbridge in particular) seems to have a lot of groups. The King's Singers are probably my favorite.

Obviously, all kinds of universities and colleges in the US, particularly in New England (here's my college's main group!), are well-known for their groups (Yale perhaps most famous, and its Whiffenpoofs most prestigious). Although there is a ton of talent in colleges, some groups are more humorous -- think covers of "Melanie," original songs like the tender love ballad "Masturbating Over You." They play for college audiences, after all.

Sadly, I'm separated from my music library, and I know there are tons of names I'm missing. I'll be back with more in a week or two, if you're still interested.
posted by booksandlibretti at 6:22 PM on January 8, 2006

The Flying Pickets are among my favorite. I suppose it's just the production, but they have a very full sound that I've not heard many other groups match. The House Jacks are also fun, especially their version of "Kashmir" -- although it needs to be sped up about 25%. (The vocal percussionist Kid Beyond is in this group, he's been featured on MeFi before.)

The Housemartins do a pretty killer a cappella version of "Caravan of Love," also, but they're not an a cappella group usually. Same deal with the abovementioned Moxy Fruvous -- I think "Gulf War Song" is their only full a cappella (though I could be wrong, I don't have ALL their albums). It's great though.
posted by kindall at 6:46 PM on January 8, 2006

The Blanks have performed on a few episodes of "Scrubs." Their CD seems to be mostly covers of TV theme songs and jingles. Take a listen!
posted by JDC8 at 11:32 PM on January 8, 2006