Pathe-Marconi mid-80s Capitol LP reissues of "nostalgia" titles (Nat Cole, Kenton, Shearing, et al)*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by MLutthans, Dec 21, 2009.

  1. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    I recently did two "needledrops" of circa 1985 Pathe-Marconi (French arm of EMI) LP reissues of classic Captiol albums. These reissues (I've got several) all seem to stem from roughly 1983-1986. I've got some Nat King Cole titles, SLEEP WARM by DEAN MARTIN, and VOICES IN FUN by The Four Freshmen. They all sound stellar to my ears.

    Anybody else have any of these mid-80s Pathe-Marconi pressings? What artists & titles? How's the sound?

    Thanks!
    Matt

    EDIT: Unlike the British Capitol reissues of the same time period, the French LPs make no mention of DMM or digital mastering, so I suspect these are standard, all-analog pressings.
     
  2. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    The French are always late on everything, c'est comme ça.
     
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  3. kt66brooklyn

    kt66brooklyn Senior Member

    Location:
    brooklyn, ny
    There are some great records! Yes, they are all analog. They sound fantastic and they can be had for pennies. I've picked up Amos Milburn, Wanda Jackson, The Johnny Otis Show, and a bunch of Imperial titles by the likes of T-Bone Walker. They issued Aladdin and Imperial titles as well as Capitol. They get my highest recommendation.
     
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  4. Done A Ton

    Done A Ton Birdbrain

    Location:
    Rural Kansas
    I've got a couple of Wanda Jackson LPs from this era. Sound is to die for.
     
  5. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I had a Judy Garland - The Letter, and would agree, they must have gotten fresh dubs of the masters to use for the series. Very nice sound, and the pressings are smooth and flat.

    There were also some very odd choices of US Easy Listening which they pressed up around this time at Pathe.
     
  6. william shears

    william shears Senior Member

    Location:
    new zealand
    Fantastique! The mid 70s Gene Vincents with the gorgeous laminated covers are exceptional. I also have an Eartha Kitt from the same stable, superb.:thumbsup:
     
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  7. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident


    I'm glad that I'm not the only one impressed with their sound quality. They are mentioned so rarely that sometimes I've wondered if my ears have been deceiving me. (Obviously, part of the reason why they are not mentioned much is that they are not well-known, but still ...)

    I once exchanged emails with the producer who planned this reissue series in France. Since we communicated quite a few years ago, my memory is fuzzy ... I didn't ask him anything about mastering or sound quality.

    He told me that the series was a joint effort between the French and British reissue branches of EMI. Each branch made its own picks for release. The producer in France was a fan of Julie London, and hence some of her albums were reissued on Pathe Marconi. Meanwhile, the UK branch was the only one to release material by Vic Damone and Nancy Wilson. Of course, there were also artists whose albums were reissued by both branches. For instance, I have both French and British mid-1980s reissues of Peggy Lee albums.

    The series was on both LP and cassette. Pathe Marconi did a great job in both configurations. The cassettes heavily promoted themselves as being on Dolby.
     
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  8. MikePh

    MikePh Forum Resident/Song and Dance Man

    SSSSssshhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Let's keep this our secret. :D
     
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  9. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Ah....that explains why some of the French pressings I have from this series has a little sticker on the rear cover that reads "Specially imported by EMI Records, Hayes, Middx."

    Matt
     
  10. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    I just picked up a sealed copy of the 1984 Pathe-Marconi reissue of Judy Garland's "Judy" LP from 1956 with Nelson Riddle. HOLY COW is this a great sounding hi-fi mono LP! Dynamics up the ying yang, as they say, and quiet-as-a-mouse, quality vinyl, with full-range, classic, sparkly (in a good way) Capitol mono sound. If you spot one of these and you dig 50's-era classic vocal pop, take the plunge!

    Matt
     
  11. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    I have the Pathe-Marconi edition of Dean's "Winter Romance". It's sound is incredible.
     
  12. william shears

    william shears Senior Member

    Location:
    new zealand
    I recently picked up the Ella Mae Morse LP. I've never been disappointed in these French Capitols. Really a top notch series, the mid-late 70s were a high-water mark for vinyl re-issues.
     

    Attached Files:

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  13. Ridin'High

    Ridin'High Forum Resident

    Paul Mock brought back this thread at a good time. If anyone in MA is interested in owning some or more of the albums in the series, check Looney Tunes in Boston. I was there a couple of days ago and saw a few. Most of them were price $9.99, and the store was having a 33.3% off anniversary sale that might or might not be still going on ...

    Since I was in a hurry, my memory is very fuzzy about the titles that I saw. The ones that I definitely remember are Dean's "A Winter Romance" and 5 or 6 Peggy Lee titles. (If interested in the Peggy titles, notice that the store has two entries for her, one under jazz vocals and the other under pop vocals. There were Pathé albums under both entries.)

    I don't know how many of these Pathé Marconi - EMI albums I own ... probably somewhere between 10 and 20. They all sound quite good. Three that I remember I have (because I see them often, since I use their covers for decorative purposes) are Dean's "Pretty Baby," Dick Haymes' "Moonbeams" and Blu Lou Barker's "Here's a Little Girl."
     
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  14. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

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  15. Stan94

    Stan94 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paris, France
    How about posting some pictures of the covers and labels?
     
  16. PH416156

    PH416156 Alea Iacta Est

    Location:
    Europe
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  17. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Here's one -- and it sounds GREAT, by the way.
     

    Attached Files:

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  18. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Here's the waveform for track one of this LP:
    Screen shot 2012-04-08 at 3.39.07 PM.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2016
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  19. Mylene

    Mylene Senior Member

    I think I've got Rockin' With Wanda in this series. It's got a big blue and white "Imported by EMI" sticker on the cover.
     
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  20. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    Yes. The arrangement (as I recall) is that EMI issued some titles in the UK, Pathe-Marconi issued some in France, and the titles did not overlap, and they would each import the other's titles. This was in about '84/'85.

    Matt
     
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  21. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    And as a rule, these have been superb reissues and well mastered and pressed. I love their Julie London reissues a lot and those old lovely Capitol classics. The UK and French titles are all wonderful.
     
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  22. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff Thread Starter

    ^^^^^ ....and made all that much better when you consider that Capitol in the USA was issuing abridged and otherwise-mediocre* '50s/'60s reissues in the SM-/SN- series while these great LPs were being pressed and sold in Europe!

    *there were a few exceptions, of course.
     
  23. ek1psu

    ek1psu Forum Resident

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I picked up two June Christy ('This is June' and 'The Misty Miss Christy') and one Ella Mae Morse ('The Morse Code'). I haven't listened to the Ella Mae Morse yet, but the two June Christy LPs sound fantastic to me. I do have to admit that I don't have anything to compare them to. My only knock on these reissues is that the quality of the covers (printing and cardstock) aren't that great.
     
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  24. Key Minor

    Key Minor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Antwerp, Belgium
    The Aladdin and Imperial titles that were issued around 1985 included a coupon. I can't remember how many coupons it took, but a number of these were good for a 331/3 RPM Jimmy Wilson EP: San Francisco 1952-53. I still have it and around 20 Pathe-Marconi LP's, mainly Rhythm & Blues and Blues like Amos Milburn, T-Bone Walker, Pee Wee Crayton and so on. I wish now I would have purchased more, but I switched almost completely to Cd in 1986 and lost interest in vinyl at that time.......

    Regards,

    Key
     
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  25. bibijeebies

    bibijeebies vinyl hairline spotter

    Location:
    Amstelveen (NL)
    Is there a list somewhere with the titles reissued by Pathe-Marconi EMI back then?
     

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