Bing Crosby - A Centennial Anthology of his Decca Recordings

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Togo, Jul 5, 2003.

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  1. Togo

    Togo Same as it ever was Thread Starter

    Location:
    London UK
    Anyone know anything about this new release?

    Mastered by Doug Schwartz (usually very good news!) and out on MCA/Decca. It's a double CD/50 track run through Bing's career at Decca.

    Time for a revivial in interest in the "old groaner" perhaps? His major influence on musical history has sometimes seemed forgotten in recent years.

    I own the 2 Steve mastered CD's on MCA and the box set from 1993.

    I also have another Doug Schwartz engineered effort called "Bing And Some Jazz Friends". The dreaded "no noise" phrase appears in the CD booklet for this one. I found this surprising given Mr. Schwartz's involvement in the project. I have heard worse CD's though, so maybe its use was minimal?

    My late father loved him and collected just about everything he ever released on '78 and LP.

    Hope this new collection is worthy sound-wise. :cool:
     
  2. Brian W.

    Brian W. Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I haven't heard the new Centennial Anthology, Togo, mainly because there's nothing on it that I don't already own on CD. I'm a member of the International Crosby Circle, so I've got literally hundreds of Bing Crosby CDs from all over the world.

    You should check out "The Chronological Bing Crosby," a CD series distributed by the ICC, all very well mastered from good condition 78s, often mint 78s. The sound in general is much better than the MCA boxed set. It varies from track to track, of course, depending on the condition of the record, but I don't think I've found anything that sounded better on the box set than it does on Jonzo.

    They're mastered by a man named Ted Kendall, who works for the Memoir label in England, and is a protege of the series' original mastering engineeer, John R. T. Davies. They do declick the discs, but don't de-hiss them. They've got a very natural, warm, non-processed sound.

    They're up to Vol. 31 now... every single track Bing released from 1927 through the summer of 1941, and most of them have never been issued on CD, including alternate takes, flubbed takes, private pressings, etc.

    Where else are you going to hear Bing ending a beautiful ballad by singing, "What the hell happened to me? Son of a bitch!" And Volume 16, which is not my favorite from a sound-quality standpoint, has a priceless three-minute argument between a tipsy Bing and his producer Jack Kapp about whether to sing the opening verse on his #2 hit "Wished on the Moon." Bing: "Jack, it don't mean a **** to me."

    Vols. 1-10 are $18 shipped, the remaining $20 shipped. Each CD is at least 65 minutes, sometimes over 75... it varies because they don't break recording sessions across CDs.

    If you want to try one out, for sound quality I would recommend Vol. 17... frigging amazing sound for the time period. It covers 11/12/35-3/24/36, and contains:

    Red Sails in the Sunset (release take)
    Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle (Takes A & B)
    On Treasure Island (Takes A, B, & C)
    Adeste Fidelis (Takes A & B)
    Silent Night (Takes A & B)
    Sailor, Beware of Your Heart (Takes A & B)
    My Heart and I (Takes A & B)
    Moonburn (Takes A &B)
    We'll Rest at the End of the Trail (release take)
    Twilight on the Trail (Takes A, B, & AD)
    The Touch of Your Lips (Takes A & C)
    Lovely Lady (Takes A & B)
    Corrine Corrina (spoof - previously unreleased)

    You don't have to be a member to order them. I believe they're all limited to pressings of 600 each, but I don't think they're quite sold out of any of them. They can be ordered from:

    F.B. "Wig" Wiggins
    5608 N. 34th Street
    Arlington , VA 22207
    (703) 241-5608

    You can get a track listing of each volume here:

    http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/~crosby/jonzo.htm
     
  3. Togo

    Togo Same as it ever was Thread Starter

    Location:
    London UK
    Hi Brian,

    Thanks so much for your informative reply. Sounds well worthy of investigation.

    Much appreciated!:) :thumbsup:
     
  4. Brian W.

    Brian W. Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    BTW, if you talk to Wig Wiggins you can ask him about the Centennial Anthology CD... he compiled it himself and co-produced it, I believe.
     
  5. Togo

    Togo Same as it ever was Thread Starter

    Location:
    London UK
    Thanks, I may just have to do that Brian!

    Wow, yet another example of why I like to spend time here...friendly and well informed members aplenty.... :cool:
     
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