I don't know of any music on 78's that is "worth it". It's fun to listen to them and, I suppose if I could find one with some famous long dead person talking it might be worth it. Music? IMO, nope. We have plenty of digitized copies of folks from the early days. I don't have anything on 78 that beats that. So they are a fun historical curiosity, like having an old buggy and a horse. Or a Model T. Fun but not actually useful for anything, really.
That's it. the one. Identical to the "Big Fudge" version for half the price. But the one I got only comes in blue.
I had a Sony TC-30 auto reverse cassette deck in my car back in 1971 when my friends all had 8 track. The idea of a tape changing tracks in the middle of a song was a non-starter for me. And they were big and clunky. Technically, they sounded better than cassettes, except they didn't.
I have lukewarm water running slowly, so it's just a constant light trickle, then lightly cover half of the record with soap with my hand and rinse it off, then the other half, then the same on the other side. Dry it with a soft towel. There is a slight residue, so one play on the Dansette in my avatar digs that out. The tracking force is heavy enough to lift it out, but not near enough to damage records, then it's as good as it will be. I can't afford a cleaning machine or solutions, but this has worked for many years, even on appalling looking records. It leaves less residue on the record before playing than any vinyl cleaning spray solution I've tried. I've found they often make the record look better, but sounding worse. It's not exaggeration to say that this method has brought filthy records up to having next to no surface noise at all often.
All ancient history but I like her voice on Songs like I'm beginning to see the light. Those great jazz bands needed a vocal break from long instrumentals
There actually is a lot of great music on 78 that has never been on LP or CD, from many time periods and styles. In particular, many of the vocalist 78s that are contemporary in time and style with Peggy Lee have never been on LP or CD. In addition, many of the LP and even the later CD transfers of 78s from Peggy's era wer quite muffled in sound in attempts to cover the surface noise, with the result that many vocals do not sound as natural. They are not just like an old buggy or horse. CDs and LPs are certainly convenient, but they have never covered many great 78 era recordings at all, and in many cases, the transfers obscure the sound that was in those grooves.
Well, I got the pictures, but I can't use the snipping tool to post pictures on this site and I don't have a picture source on the internet. Let me describe them: The first picture was of the record after zapping static and cleaning with a Discwasher. The second was after then applying the roller to the same spot. The second was a LOT cleaner. The record also sounded a LOT better regarding pops and clicks. To make it a fair test, I used it on one of the records that, though deep cleaned previously, still had some surface noise caused by dirt. Now, the pops and clicks are about the same volume, when they happen (which is rare) as the "rubbing of the stylus on the vinyl." The photos were a bit difficult to analyze at first until I realized a lot of the "dust specs" in both pictures were actually the light reflecting off the shiny groove walls. Bottom line is that this thing is a KEEPER!
How insensitive I must seem, having neglected to contribute to my own thread for such a long time. I’ve been a bit busy (still am), but I thought that I’d at least refresh the page by posting this 1963 rendition of the Jobim standard “Insensatez.” Bossa Nova ala Lee.
I was browsing Amazon last week and saw this Peggy Lee compilation on LP on the Wagram label for just $15.50: Peggy Lee – Fever (2020, Vinyl) Looks like I got the last one. Nice selection of songs, including one that was new to me but I see has been discussed on this thread, "Sweetheart". What a fun tune! And just in time for Halloween, @.crystalised. !
I found this one by picking up the 45 pictured on the YouTube clip. I really liked it. It's the B-side of Light of Love. I'd have had the single the other way round.
Not so much with Peggy, but I really want a pre Atlantic Ray Charles CD compilation and an early Carter Family one that isn't smothered with noise reduction. Every time I get one, admittedly on a cheap public domain label, it sounds horrible. I don't know what official CDs are good and don't want to buy a relatively expensive one to find it sounds just as bad. I can imagine this predicament is common among fans of music from the 78 era. Ultimately, given the choice, I'd rather have the surface noise.
Haha thanks for the mention! I will spin my own copy of the 45 in honour of Halloween Despite my preference for the other side of the record, "Sweetheart" is definitely fun.
I visited the Patsy Cline Museum in Nashville this week and discussed Patsy's connection to Peggy Lee with the manager. For those who don't know, Peggy started a class-action lawsuit against Universal for underpaid royalties, and Patsy's estate was part of the suit. Peggy was also awarded the lifetime achievement Grammy the same year as Patsy, and Peggy accepted Patsy's award on her behalf. In tribute to the connection between these two great artists, the plan is to put one of Peggy's Decca albums on display in one of the exhibits. It's a wonderful gesture.
You might spend well over $100,000 and take ten years to buy all of The Carter Family 78 RPMs, and still have some seriously damaged 78s. Why not just go for the Bear Family label CD boxset? If you want to buy their music one step at a time, buy the series of Carter Family CDs on the Rounder label. one at a time. Similar story for pre-Atlantic Ray Charles. The 78's will easily be over $100 each and be very worn. When you are talking about "official" issues, it is often the case that it is the official issues that have inferior sound to collector's label issues. Of course, in most cases of recordings from the 78 era, there never has been an "official issue" on LP or CD....only collector's label reissues.
Quite simply, I can't afford the Bear Family sets and don't want everything. I don't want the 78s of course, just a good single or double CD that has minimal noise reduction and sounds alive. Those Rounder CDs seem interesting, a great label, but getting them in the UK could be tricky. I love that on Peggy Lee The Lost 40s and 50s Capitol Masters they left the surface noise alone rather than try and hide it. That was the right approach to take for me. A professional attempt to remove the worst of the noise is great, but when they just smother the entire recordings with excessive noise reduction, I can't listen to it for long before it annoys me!
Overseas shipping costs are destroying music collecting! For The Carter Family, there are downloads if you like flac data (CD quality). There are also the JSP label sets. Many JSP label sets are very good, though I do not have their two Carter Family sets (5CDs each). I have the Bear Family and Rounder sets
Don't know if anyone noticed, but Capitol released "Christmas Carousel" as a 24/96 download in September, and it sounds like it may be the original stereo mix. From the samples, "The Christmas List" is definitely a different mix from the Bog Norberg CD, with wide stereo, and I can actually hear some hiss on the sample: Peggy Lee, Christmas Carousel in High-Resolution Audio
Interesting. That's definitely not the Norberg mix. I hate how the sample clips are different volumes though, I nearly blasted my eardrums with "The Tree" Sounds like there's a boost in the top end on this transfer, which is quite noticeable in the percussion of "I Like A Sleighride" and the cymbals on "Christmas Carousel". Might be why the hiss is more apparent, but I'll take hiss any day over NR. Looks like there's also original stereo mixes of Beauty and the Beat! and Pass Me By available on that site.
I've purchased it. It most definitely is not the Norburg mix, and no noise reduction present. The Norberg mix sounds subdued by comparison. The spoken parts in "The Christmas List" are much clearer. She no longer sounds like she had a gag over her mouth with her, "Mm-hmms," which always sounded muffled to me on the Norberg CD.
If You Go: The beautiful cover photo of Peggy always reminds me of this equally lovely shot of Patsy: Anyway, that's the UK mono edition of Peggy's album pictured here. For many years, I've searched high and low for my own copy of If You Go in mono, across state and province, near and far, only to finally locate a minty-looking Canada mono pressing at the local antique mall just a few weekends ago. Readers might wonder, why mono for this album? All songs for the package were recorded in 1961 sessions; surely it must have a stereo counterpart? It does, but the stereo mix really stinks... Peggy is hard left in any stereo edition of this album I've heard. I challenge other Peggy fans to chime in and identify a stereo release in which she's properly positioned in phantom center. I don't believe one exists, but I'll happily concede if my statement is false. In truth, I've mildly disliked this album for several reasons. First, I originally felt its contents were a touch pouty. Second, I thought Quincy's arrangements were a little strange and overpowering at times when one considers the pensive and tender programming. Third (and most importantly) I hated the mix. Turns out my relative dissatisfaction with this album compared to earlier Peggy Lee offerings was almost entirely due to the mix, rather than its contents. Now that I've finally heard If You Go in glorious mono, all becomes clear - not just sound quality - but also artistic vision, mood and setting. All is as it should be. To wit: the mono mix is not only properly balanced, but to such an extent that one is able to hear the finer nuances both in Peggy's vocals and Quincy's arrangements. The instrumental solos are no longer overpowering, jarring or distracting; Peggy is no longer cooing in one channel only; the background orchestrations are at an appropriate volume; the strings don't cover up the rhythm section; the double bass has an almost irresistible texture and tautness about it, and everything together just sings the way it should. To sum up, the mono mix is nothing short of a revelation. Too bad it's never made it to digital release, as far as I can tell. Thankfully, I've found a new appreciation for an album that I'd never really paid much attention to previously. I feel like I finally "get" what "P & Q" were trying to achieve here, and it's lovely. I suspect I'll be playing this often more often now that I have a proper mix to enjoy. Side note - what's up with the recording sessions for this LP? 6 sessions spread across 4 dates for 12 tracks?? Seems possible that its concept was developed after the sessions took place, especially when one considers how many of the masters from those dates remained unissued for many years after.
Loved reading your fresh impressions of this album, .crystalised. I’ll have a bit more to say when I have more time next month. At present time, I wanted to just touch mainly on the matter of the six sessions and the outtakes. For the benefit of anyone else who might be curious and interested, here’s the vinyl disc, with the song titles: And here are the titles recorded at these album sessions but excluded from the LP: Deep Purple Farewell to Arms My Guitar (two masters) Now, to some eyes, a total of three or four excluded masters might not seem much. However, in Peggy's case, the surplus does call a bit of attention to itself, mainly because most of her Capitol LPs incorporate either all or all but one of the masters from the given album dates. All six sessions were held in just about a week in June 1961 -- some of them on the same days. Though not rushed, this tight schedule could point to a need to meet a deadline. One or more of the key participants could have been feared to have engagements keeping them away from the recording studio for a long time period. And, indeed, Peggy and Quincy and some of her key musicians were to leave town in about a month, with the UK as their destination. All that being said ... In this one instance, .crystalised., I’m finding myself more inclined to go in a direction opposite to yours. My suspicion is that she mulled over this album's concept far more than she had done for other albums of hers. All If You Go numbers qualify as “misty-eyed,” per the album’s description on the front cover. Even more than for their superficially misty-eyed approach, these numbers stand out for uniformly carrying a mood of hushed yearning and bittersweet regret. They also exude a Proustian vibe -- memories of things past. Note also that some of these tunes are (or were, at the time) relatively obscure. Then there is the hiring of a relatively large orchestra, featuring not only a variety of strings but also certain “tailored-to-a-particular-mood” instruments, such as harp, celeste, French horn ... All of this suggests forethought to me. My imagination pictures Peggy getting over-excited at the thought of all the songs that she deemed suitable for the album’s concept, and finding herself unable to stick to the expected total of 12 or 13. Then, after having waxed the whole bunch, she (perhaps in discussions with producer Cavanaugh and conductor Jones) would have had to confront the hard decision of which numbers to exclude ... That’s all in my imagination, though -- and, as we all know, imagination is a funny thing. Let me close with one of the tracks not on the album:
I was put off getting the 2 disc CD release of this by Audiophile Records as the Peggy Lee Discography notes that the sound quality is rather mediocre, and that cleaner sources exist for these recordings. Still hoping a better sounding release comes out for cd…
It has often been available at a very good price. I think you will wait for something that will never be released.
