DCC Archive Sonny Burgess / Warren Smith Question

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Mike, Jan 7, 2002.

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  1. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    I see Sonny and Warren both have collections on AVI and the Bear Family. Does anyone have any opinions on which one sounds better? Thanks for any info.

    Mike
     
  2. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Ahhhh, a question about RAB - I'll field this one. I don't own any of the above, but the Bear Family stuff I own is all top notch - my bet is that Boppin' Bob Jones was at the controls for those and he's a mighty fine guy when it comes to remastering (heck, our good buddy Steve H. has given Bob a pat on the old back - Boppin' Bob understands the rockabilly throb!!!). As for the AVI, I think Tom Moulton might have done those transfers (disco fans will know Tom from "Mix by Moulton" fame - B.T. Express pops to mind), and I'd guess he did an okee dokee job, too - if you have the cash go for the Bear stuff - you'll get a monster book with tonsa pix and neat-o session info to boot. Course, once you get a taste for Bear stuff, you'll need every volume of That'll Flat Git It - 30+ track monster RAB comps devoted to single labels at a time... :)
     
  3. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Indy Mike:

    Thanks a lot. Decisions, decisions! It looks like a lot of the AVI's were done by Tom Moulton according to AMG. I'm at least going to pick up the Charlie Rich. It's one packed disc as opposed to 3 discs on Bear, which is probably a bit much for me.

    Do you get a big book even with the single disc compilations on Bear? I've never bought anything from them. My first purchase will be Howlin' Wolf - Memphis Days 1 & 2.

    Mike
     
  4. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Hi, the single artist Bear CD's I have (Johnny Burnette/Rock n Roll Trio, Ronnie Self) have B-I-G booklets that bearly (oops, barely!!!) fit the case. You won't be disappointed with the reading material! If you like RAB, Ace UK also does a bang up job with the sonics, the booklets are a little less detailed. Glad to see a fellow lover of the RAB raunch here - Steve H., fess up and join the thread - you'd rather master a Sonny Burgess set more than Dylan any day!!! :D
     
  5. Cousin It

    Cousin It Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    Agree with Indy Mike on all of the above.As far as I know AVI went under sometime ago and the Bear Family may well be your only choice now.I'm a big fan of BF,they release stuff I've never heard and no other(certainly U.S)label would even consider.I've got the AVI discs of Smith/Burgess and Billy Riley and they're good but Bear are better,their packaging and essays are far better.If you like rockabilly legendarily famous or legendarily obscure then BF are about the only place.One thing I did like about AVI was that they were not afraid to pack on the trax and make first time stereo mixes.The Charlie Rich Sun disc I have has something like 25 trax on it while other U.S labels only put 16 or 18.They did a well packed 29 track Wynn Stewart disc,a recent reissue of his material only has 18.
     
  6. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Thanks again guys!

    AVI sold the Excello catalog to Hip-O and Hip-O doesn't seem to be doing much with it. It really stinks when these big companies buy the catalog and then sit on it!

    The reason I asked about AVI was because I found a bunch of their stuff and it is all out of print. But it sounds like Bear is the way to go. Many thanks for your advice.

    Mike
     
  7. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    But I am going to buy some Excello stuff (just not Sun) because who knows when or if Hip-O will every do anything with it.

    Mike
     
  8. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Hello again!!! I found a RAB comp on Hip-O called Rockabilly Essentials that's mastered by Tom Moulton - sounds pretty darned good - nice clean up of a stereo vinyl cut of Jack Scott's The Way I Walk (masters are long gone - makes me wanna cry), and Steve H's faves The Sparkletones Black Slacks pounds away, too. Be careful with the AVI stuff for non Sun material - they released a bunch of nice looking surf comps that had rechanneled :mad: tracks on them. The Sun stuff was mono and when possible stereo (Charlie Rich stuff is notable for nice stereo mixes by Mr. Moulton; some previous stereo attempts were not so good), and I think Tom Moulton did all of those Sun sets. Can't vouch for the Excello, but I think the Jerry McCain stuff might have come from vinyl sources. Ask at the Both Sides Now board - you seem to be visiting both here and there!!! - Mike C. can help out better than I can on the Excello stuff, or throw out your AVI question to Tom Moulton at BSN - he checks in every now and then - another nice guy who shares what he knows, and he's been in the biz a loooong time.

    [ January 10, 2002: Message edited by: Indy Mike ]
     
  9. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Are you saying the "Rare Surf" comps are rechanneled? I was eyeing those, one of them has a young Larry Carlton. Should I stay away? Please advise! :D
     
  10. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Howdy, dug out my copies of Both Sides Now Stereo newsletters and found the following on the Rare Surf discs: vol. 1&2 have tons of rechanneled stuff - v.1 received a C and is all rechanneled and some tracks have surface noise, v.2 got a D and has lots of E, some M and some S tarcks; v.3 got a C for some, B for other tracks and is all mono. Sorry that they used such crummy sources - it's always sad to buy a disc and discover junk, so unless you've absotively, poilutely gotta have em I'd pass...
     
  11. Mike

    Mike New Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Many thanks to you and Mike C. for the review. You saved me some bucks and what sounds like a brutal listening experience. Definitely not a must have for me!
     
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