Ella Fitzgerald: "Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie"

Recently I picked up this stereo Verve LP for $1.99. I can tell the sonics are great and I LOVE the music, but I can't enjoy this copy due to excessive surface noise (I tried cleaning this multiple times with a bewildering variety of methods, including my beloved Disc Doctor stuff, to little or no avail).

How hard/expensive is it to find a good copy on vinyl? There are a few on eBay, but I'm becoming increasingly wary of buying used LPs there.

I also know Classic did this one, at least on 33 1/3 LP ... Any good or not? Seems hard to find now. Can anyone who's heard the standard CD comment on its sound (it's clearly the most easily available version at this point)?

Thanks.

 

Jeff,

Someone's selling the Classic LP version for $22.50 on Audiogon.

Ella

 

Thanks, Steve. I'll definitely look for that one. I'm as big an LP fan as they come, but I'm always willing to go for a CD that sounds good too.

 

Very true.

Did the original Verve CD you speak of have bonus tracks? I believe the one they sell now does ... I'm just wondering how to distinguish the early '90s one from the currently available one.

 

Hmm, actually, it appears the one you mention (early 90s, Dennis Drake) is the one that's still available. Doesn't look like there's been any remastering since then ... Amazon lists its release date as 1989, and CDnow credits (not the most reliable, I know, but still...) credit Dennis Drake with remastering.

Thanks. I'll try one.

 

It IS a great album

I agree, it's great stuff. Even through all the crackles on my LP I could hear that. I think her voice really worked well with that small-combo sound. (Heck, it worked well with anything ...)

 

I think Classic Records did a CD issue as well. Has anyone heard that one?

 

Funny this post came up as just today I received my cd copy of this album. I purchased a new sealed Classic Records Gold cd and haven't played it yet. Steve, hsve you compared this to the original Verve cd.

Let me know and my feelings won't be hurt if you still recommend the Verve though the Classic CD's usually do sound quite nice.

 

Yes, this is truly a great Ella session; one of my favorites.

I don't have the Verve CD, but i do have the Classics Gold disc and it sounds fabulous. It doesn't, however, have the bonus tracks, so if Steve or anyone else tells me that the regular ol' Verve disc is better than i'll go out and buy it right now!

Ray

 

Well just got finished listening to my new Classic Records Gold CD. Now to be fair I don't have the Verve cd version but I must say the sound of the Classic gold cd is incredible. The best compliment I can give it is that it sounds very analog like. By that I mean, a dynamic recording with full mid and low bass and the highs are clear but not bright or tinny. Ella's voice is very full and throws a large soundstage across the two speakers. The drums and bass are tastefully in the background but very clear. No digital fatique to be found here. This seems to be a well recorded album and I am quite satisfied with the Classic Records cd release.

Now whether or not this is better than the Verve release I can't say and will leave that up to someone else who has both titles to compare. If I had to take a guess I would say the Classic Gold CD has better sound since I have never heard a Verve CD sound this good and natural-but again that is a guess.

 

I also have the Classic Gold. Red Trumpet had a special on these a little while back for $17.

Sadly, I have no other copy I can compare the Classic version with, but I certainly agree with KLM and RDK that this is a beautiful disc, with a rich dynamic sound that's very satisfying. There is nothing about this CD that I find wanting. Great music, well recorded, and nicely made.

Regards,
Metralla

 

Clap Hands...Gold CD

Hi Steve,


Footlight.com has it still listed:

http://www.footlight.com/product.cfm?product_id=4868

Hope this helps,

Arne

 

Thanks!

Hey Arne,

Thanks for that tip. I was unfamiliar with that site. I just placed my order; it sounds like the gold disc is worth hearing.

 

Odd Man Out

Steve, I have one you can borrow. You will not want to keep it for very long. I have it in a plastic bag because it stinks.

Sorry to rain on everybody's parade but that gold CD leaves a lot to be desired. The cheap domestic one is much better, and I don't even like that one.

I actually played that CD for SH when he first heard my system, lo those many years ago, and he told me what was wrong with it. (He told me because I insisted. I wanted to know why something that sounded so good to me was "wrong".)

Now I realize that the transistory, cold sounding tape deck that played back the tape, and that grainy A to D that turned the warm, sweet analog to digital, were not the equipment a wiser man would have chosen to use in the transfer.

Shoving a Neumann mic with its 6k peak down Ella's throat so you can hear every tongue click and spittle swallow is no longer my idea of "hi-fi". It was at the time. What an "audiophile" I was. People who sing live in front of you don't sound like that, why should Ella? The tapes were played back and cut with tubes for the LP era, which may soften the effect. Modern equipment emphasizes it. Digital emphasizes it. Two questions. Hey Dennis: it's already a problem; why make it worse? Bernie, you're doing the gold version: it's already bright, you need to make it brighter?

Any version of the record (except the Classic, which is veiled and not the way to go, IMO) will kill any version of the CD.

I know this will cause more wailing in the land and gnashing of teeth, but it happens to be my favorite female vocal record of all time, so when I hear it ruined, it upsets me.

Sorry. Hate to be the odd man out all the time, but I guess I have no choice this time around.

No need to buy the LP from an overpriced dealer like me. They show up on Ebay, and if I'm wrong and the CD sounds better to you, you can turn around and sell it there. Of course, many will say "the CD sounds fine to me, I don't need to", and for them I quote Mr. Tannenbaum (as played by Gene Hackman): "Right on!"

TP

 

While I never compared the regular CD of Clap Hands vs. Classic Records Gold, I remember doing a similar comparison for another Ella Fitzgerald album - Ella F. Sings Songs From Let No Man Write My Epitaph (Classic Records Gold) and The Intimate Ella, which is the same album on a regular Polygram CD (either French or German).

The Classic sounded wider, and the piano accompaniment (no other instruments there) was a little more prominent and to the foreground. Mybe because of that the Polygram CD seemed to focus more on Ella's voice - very full and almost 3D sounding.

Ultimately I preferred the Classic, but the regular CD was very good, and could be had for around $8-10.

 

Well, now I'm totally confused.

I guess it's just as well that, after I placed my order for the gold Classic CD at Footlight Records, they wrote to say they can't fill it because it's out of stock and out of print.

My local CD shop has the Verve CD for $8.99. I guess I can go with that, and then if I see a good deal on a good piece of vinyl, maybe I'll try that too.

Thanks for all the comments, folks.

 

Sorry to move off topic, but I love Humorem's latest Avitar (is that what it's called?).
I love "King of America", perhaps my favorite Costello album. Had only the Columbia cassette until I bought the Ryko reissue. Not the 'worst' sounding CD, but a bit bright.
Dan C

 

I agree completely. It's my fave EC disc too ... only Get Happy comes close for me.

I think the Ryko CD is too bright; I have original US and UK vinyl, which sound quite alike to me: wonderful.