Al Jolson remasters, old recording studio thoughts and TECHNICOLOR!

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by John Hatter, Jun 2, 2003.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    My Dad turned me onto Al when I was very young...always had him playing!
    Do you think the Jolson Story Original Soundtrack will come out on Cee Dee? I have a Music Club 30 track Al Jolson Cee Dee with fairly decent sound, ever hear of that one? I'd love the 2 Jolson Movies on DVD!
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Well, try one and see I guess. "Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder" is a good place to start. If they used the original tapes, it means it will be in nice mono, no echo but still dubbed from 16" discs. Let us know!
     
  3. John Hatter

    John Hatter Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    England
    I'll do that, though I 've no idea how long it'll take me to join the Society, nor how long the CD will take to ship form the States.
     
  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Wow! That sounds great! I'm going to check the link out...thanks John! Finally? Hopefully? :thumbsup:
     
  5. John Hatter

    John Hatter Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    England
    Michael, if you beat me to it let us know what you think
    Thanks
    John
     
  6. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I'm having a navigation problem on that site...Are you? Same goes for you...Let us know:thumbsup:
     
  7. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    My first LPs (many years after my first *records*) were "With the Beatles" and The Glen Miller Story (RCA version - "Glenn Miller & His Orchestra play selections from...")

    Oops, I'm hijacking the thread again. Seemed to fit, though.
     
  8. sgraham

    sgraham New Member

    Location:
    Michigan
    Somehow I always get nervous when I read something like that!
     
  9. John Hatter

    John Hatter Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    England
    It's a strange site navigation wise. Go to http://www.jolson.org/
    Scroll down until you come to 5 options- furthest right hand side is Al Jolson Society. Click it
    Scrolldown the next page and you'll find Remasterd Al Jolson cd's
    Click on it and bingo , there are about 8 CD's to choose from. You will need to join the Society to purchase.
    I'm still mulling it over
    Cheers
    John
     
  10. John Hatter

    John Hatter Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    England
    I made enquiries as to whether these are mono recording without echo/reverb/fake stereo and received the following helpful reply from the AJ Society. I have replied asking for confirmation that these are mono , not Stereo they have tried to undo, I will keep you posted.

    Message " Nice to hear from you. You ask some good questions. We've worked hard to
    make our new CDs as clean, clear, and free from that awful reverb and
    phony stereo as we can. They now sound more like you're actually in the
    studio listening to Jolson. The response from our members has been
    terrific. While working to maintain the integrity of the original
    recordings, we use our computer programs to painstakingly clean up the
    surface noise, remove the pops, clicks, and correct speed. While some of
    the individual recordings may still have minor inperfections due to the
    source material we were able to use and our desire to not sacrifice
    fidelity, I think you'll find that our recordings are by far the best
    sounding versions available anywhere. Our member Paul Bowers works for
    hours upon hours to produce discs we can be very proud of. We have 11
    CDs now available. I believe you will be happy with any of them. Hope
    this answers your questions. Always glad to help.
     
  11. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    So they are essentially bootlegs or homemade? The Decca tapes were on speed and declicked (by hand using a razor blade) in the 1950's.

    Go for the LP's.
     
  12. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    I'm amazed that people today still listen to Al jolson. He actually has a nice following in 2003.

    Good to see that.
     
  13. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Of course his recordings from April 1949 to his death in 1950 were recorded on 30 IPS magnetic tape to begin with.
     
  14. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    30 ips.....Ampex 200's or Magnecord?
     
  15. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Think, Mikey! :)

    Decca studios on Melrose next to Paramount Pictures?

    Bing Crosby?


    Ampex of course! ;)
     
  16. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    Of course!! Der Bingle was the man for Ampex.

    Ya'know......Capitol Records didnt have an Ampex 200. They had dual Ampex 201's.......the only ones that ever existed. They had them for a very short while, then they were replaced by a large order for 9 Ampex 300s.

    Just a little bit of ampex history for ya'all.......
     
  17. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    What was the difference between a 200 and a 201? I'm too lazy to look it up...
     
  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    The exitement level just dropped to ZERO! Don't want to pay for no Jolson Boots...Please release The Jolson Story on Cee Dee...Officially.
     
  19. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    well, what happened was that Capitol went to ampex and said "We like the Model 200, but we want more low freq response".

    so ampex made a custom head just for capitol (which of course Capitol Paid a fortune for), and then ampex re-designed the Bias circuits in the record and playback amps to accomodate the new heads. Ampex called the Hot-Rodded machines the Model 201.

    soon after, the Model 300 came out, incorporating all kinds of design changes. All customers with Model 200s and Capitol with their Model 201's were offered the new machines at a substantial discount to upgrade.

    I do believe ONE of the Model 201's is still in existince. It WAS in Redwood City, in a Museum, but then I heard it was sold to private collector. I would like to see that machine in person and touch it, because that machine was really the thing that started it all.
     
  20. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Interesting.

    Decca stayed with their 200's for years; 1949 to maybe the middle of 1958. They were still using the 200 to make tape copies until the middle 1960's!
     
  21. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    Hey Steve, that IS interesting. I bet by 1958 Decca had the very last 200s around. That machine was HUGE.
     
  22. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    One can always tell a tape copy or original from DECCA made on an Ampex 200; the tape is "B" wound (inside out).
     
  23. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    Steve, have you heard any tapes that you know, for sure, were recorded on a 200?

    How did they sound? My guess is that they sounded pretty darn good, but perhaps did not go down below, say..... 30 htz on the low end. Sound about right to you?
     
  24. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Recorded on a 200?

    Rock Around The Clock and all the Bill Haleys
    All the Jolsons, Crosbys, etc. from 1949-on
    Buddy Holly, the mono versions of Raining In My Heart, etc. and Early In The Morning
    Any other Decca recording from the 1950's that was actually done at Decca.

    No record cutting machine or player could accurately go to 30 anyway. I don't know what Capitol was so hung up about.....
     
  25. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    Good point about the cutters of that time. Maybe they were thinking of open reel tape, who knows.

    I remember Larry Levine said that the first cutting head they had at Goldstar couldnt go above 8,000!! But he said it was CLEAN as could be.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine