‘Campus Parade’ is an apt title for an album featuring the nation’s largest University Band – The Purdue Band. A leader among marching bands and one of the country’s leading proponents of the “pageantry type” football show, The Purdue Band also provides a cultural music outlet for the campus community, performing in numerous concerts and recitals. Under the direction of Al G. Wright, the band is a cohesive unit on and off the field. The entire band staff works closely with the director in designing and selecting the best combination of good music, effective formations and interesting marching ideas. The result of these arduous and demanding preparations can be heard in their sparkling renditions. This album vividly demonstrates the precision, snap, zest and musicianship that shapes The Purdue Band’s outstanding gridiron and concert performances. The Purdue Band marches onto the field to the gradually increasing tempos of The Broadcaster, a rousing and panoramic description of gridiron events that’s as colorful as the sportmaster’s commentary. Campus Parade, the title tune, is an on-to-victory spirit-raiser played with vitality and fire, and the boundless energy continues in Youth And Progress, Karl L King’s march of forthright determination dedicated to the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce. Another Karl King composition follows – the peppy, perky salute to the spirit of the West called Yellowstone Trail. Easy Street Blues is a swinger recalling eye-catching, fast-stepping formations, and The Westerner closes the side with all the git-along hoopla and bravado of a rodeo. Crusade For Freedom opens the second side in flag-waving fashion, brimming with let’s-all-stand-together patriotism. Advancing Youth is a lighthearted theme filled with march-on optimism, and Spirituals On Parade is a medley of spirituals in stirring march tempos. The Masquerader, up next, captures the flavor of a festive parade with all the floats and trimmings. Navy Blue brings the fleet in with a pulse-beating dedication to the “U.S. Navy the world over,” and Madison Square Garden March, in honor of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, is the exciting show-stopping closer.