Direct-to-Disc LPs: any recommendations?*

please share if you have experience any good one Sonically

 

As I noted in another thread recently, one of the most impressive recordings I own is Woody Herman's Road Father (Century CRDD-1080), a direct-to-disc album from 1979. You can pick up copies on eBay for $10-20 -- a steal at that price!

 

Buddy Rich Class Of '78 (Great American Gramophone Company.)

 

There's only a few that are really good both sonically and musically:

Dave Grusin - Discovered Again (Sheffield Lab.)
Harry James - Comin' From A Good Place (Sheffield Lab.)
Harry James - Still Harry After All These Years (Sheffield Lab.)
Fiedler/Boston Pops - Tchaikovsky (Crystal Clear 45rpm)
Charlie Byrd (Crystal Clear) (great drum solo)
Any of the Sheffield Lab. Moscow sessions or Wagner discs

Others that aren't so good are the Direct Disk Labs. The M&K are great sound but so-so music; they can be very expensive. East Wind (japan) have good sound. Some of the Japan RCDE series (45rpm again) are very good, again hard to find and expensive. Most common are the piano ones, but the percussion and guitar ones are better. The Mayorga Sheffield Lab discs ('Distinguished colleagues') are good multi track sound but very pedestrian music - soft jazz. Mayorga does some OK solo classical piano discs. The two Amanda McBroom albums are OK if you like show/torch singing.


Hope this helps. The Sheffields are in general the most common with the Crystal Clears being next. There are a few cheap Direct albums from USA and Canada that are really poor. Radio Shack did one in red vinyl that turns up often too.

 

Thelma Huston and the Prerssure Cooker, I'VE GOT THE MUSIC IN ME.

 

East Wind did one called "The Three". Great Music, well pressed and recorded.

 

yes, a great one. i actually had a sample from that up here in the needledrop section.

 

I don't know if that's still up, but here's another.

30 seconds of Birdland from that LP...

BIRD SAMPLE

Relatively speaking, it sounds pretty good. Nice bass energy they captured, though a little congested in the upper midrange, which may come down to deficiency in my setup.

 

LA4 had a couple-very good as I remember but it has been years since I listened to them. +1 on Buddy Rich

 

Ditto on the LA 4 albums on East Wind label.

Also I found Sheffield Labs D-D album Confederation, by the McNeely-Levin-Skinner band to be well-recorded and well-played bluegrass.

Another favorite is on the Umbrella label, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass. It's a double-disc direct-to-disc. It reminds me of Maynard Ferguson's early 1970's work. A fine, tight, big band sound.

Re: the Charlie Byrd 45RPM, yes the drum solo is demonstration quality. It is very "live" sounding, like the musicians had a lot of adrenalin. I'm not sure I can rate it as a big musical success. It's good, but not great.

 

+1.Houston's vocals are used sparingly and effectively. The Pressure Cooker Band,a group of studio all stars, is aptly named. A late '70s sound that shows that sounding a little dated(one expects Starsky or Hutch to come bursting through with the escape vehicle any second now)is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Which ones of the DDLs are you referring to? I have one of them, the one the Tonight Show orchestra made, and it's not too bad. Like ROAD FATHER it was recorded at Capitol A, and both sides of my copy sport 'Wally' in the dead wax.

 

Rough Trade's "Rough Trade Live!" on Umbrella records is a long time fave D2D of mine and consistently the cheapest rock D2D I find. I see them all the time round these parts for $5 or less. It's not really a live album, at least no audience, but it has a live sound. The early ones are numbered.

 

I have trouble telling the smaller labels apart. California Smoker? Or was that an American Gramophone? Most of these are in the play once and discard range. Even the Dave Brubeck one, IMO.

 

Herbie Hancock - Piano (Sony)

 

ROAD FATHER was originally on what was called Great American Graphophone Company (that may have been Gramophone). The label name was changed to Century Records. My copy reflects the name change.

 

Like a lot of a'philes, I own quite a few Direct to Disc LP's. Generally, they sound very good..sometimes great and sometimes...well, no so great!

Tell us about your favorites and your disappointments in this Direct Disc LP thread.

 

Blazing Redheads on Reference Recordings, Wild Child Butler on APO, and Rough Trade on Umbrella are what I have. All are excellent. I purchased all of them new.

 

Did they tape these sessions also, as a backup or for unforeseen future uses or formats?

 

Most Direct To Disc sessions were not taped for future re-releases that I know of. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

Herbie Hancock Directstep
https://www.discogs.com/Herbie-Hancock-Directstep/release/1161485

 

I always liked the sound of Century Records The Glenn Miller Orchestra: The Direct Disc Sound Of The Glenn Miller Orchestra!

For me personally, I have a fair few Direct to disk LPs but I am not inspired by the music/performance(s).

JG

 

The Three was taped, but unfortunately an intermittent sound problem interferes with the great sound of the album being heard on CD. The vinyl was great, the CD slightly less so because of that intermittent problem.

 

Charlie Byrd (Crystal Clear) is astonishing, my favourite recording ever, ie capturing a band,
before I got this Take 5 was my #1

 

I have 2 Sheffield Harry James platters from early 80's---Still Harry and King James, I'm playin right now,
first time in ten years, They still excite, have great presence, quiet clean vinyl and I think, nice dynamics..I like HJ, and
his style of big band arrangements, so the recording to me is an excellent bonus. I suppose they are not adventurous, with wild abandon
solos, but good listening..