Music for Romantic Occasions and After

Scotti Bros. Records has come up with the year’s most unusual album trilogy.

It’s a gift-giver’s delight. But beware: It’s hard to imagine giving all three albums to the same person . . . or couple. The discs salute, in order, weddings, anniversaries and (gulp) divorces.

Vol. 1 is straightforward enough: “There Is Love: The Wedding Songs,” a collection of 14 selections ranging from processional marches to such pop recordings as Debby Boone’s “You Light Up My Life,” Buddy Holly’s “True Love Ways,” Harry Nilsson’s “Always” and Perry Como’s “Til the End of Time.”

The wide target audience for this type of collection is spelled out in the liner notes: “This is just the right gift for any romantic occasion, the perfect souvenir for anyone who ever witnessed or participated in a wedding and the ultimate wedding music for any marriage ceremony.”

Vol. 2 is equally traditional: “There Is Still Love: The Anniversary Songs,” an album whose appeal is so obvious that the company didn’t even need liner notes. Among the tunes: Bing Crosby’s “The Anniversary Waltz,” the Flamingos’ “I Only Have Eyes for You,” the Lettermen’s “When I Fall in Love” and the Stylistics’ “Betcha by Golly Wow.”

It’s Vol. 3 that is the surprise: “There Was Love: The Divorce Songs,” a collection of 12 tracks that proudly bills itself as “the most daring assemblage of songs commiserating or advocating divorce.”

Once again, the record company apparently has a wide target audience in mind--as reflected in the liner notes: “This is the perfect gift for someone contemplating, completing or getting over matrimonial termination. The songs contained herein will soothe the savage beat of the newly divorced heart.”

To underscore the lighthearted nature of the package, the front cover shows a chain saw cutting its way through a heart-shaped box of chocolates, while the liner notes were written by oft-divorced Mickey Rooney.

And what recordings are we talking about here? The list is topped by Dolly Parton’s version of “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” the classic Bobby Braddock-Curly Putman song that was a country hit for Tammy Wynette in the late ‘60s. In the song, the parents spell out the words--like “t-o-y” and “d-i-v-o-r-c-e”--that they don’t want their 4-year-old to understand.

Among the other selections: Julie London’s “Cry Me a River,” the Orioles’ “Crying in the Chapel,” Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” and Steam’s novelty “Na Na Hey Hey, Kiss Him Goodbye.”

One final note: Yes, the albums are sold separately.