BLACK PLATTERS BRING SONIC DELIGHT!
Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:34 pm
A last few hours of peace this afternoon, while the gurlz tear up NYC and later get on that bird to head back to SFO, to arrive at midnight filled with late-night energy and tales to tell...
Finally, yesterday, had time to swap out the cartridge (Clearaudio Aurum) in the main turntable, for the Sumiko that's been sitting in its case, taunting me, for nearly a year. Since I installed the new tube preamp (Chinese--Yaoin, with good specs), I've been meaning to do this; the old preamp had fixed gain and the Sumiko's output was too low for it.
So an afternoon of honeydew stuff with some LPs in the background, recently-purchase and unlistened to until now.
First: an NOS monaural copy of The Brothers Four Greatest Hits, produced by that old R & R hater, Mitch Miller, he of the joyous countenance punctuated by one very odd trademark goatee. Great Air in some cuts, others close-miked, but such good fidelity in this 1962 issue that they were in the room with me. A good thing and a bad thing, as the whitebread folkie college quotient was a bit high on some of the cuts, and my tolerance of banjo is limited these days. But the cuts where vocals were front-and-center (classics like "Greenfields" and "My Tani" were eye-openers on modern/vintage equipment...I remember this stuff sounding like it was playing in a cotton wool room back in the day.
Next, another mono rarity--The Many Moods of Murry Wilson, written produced and conducted by the late father of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, who must've had a bizarre take on life and his place in it, judging from the cover art. However, all of the stock shots of bikini girls and casual fashion models, give a good hint of what to expect in the grooves. I heartily UN-recommend it. Oh, sonic quality is quite good for Capitol of that era, but such ****** schmaltz in arrangement and production makes it unsuitable for even dentist's office use (made my teeth ache). Story was that Nik Venet OKd this foray for Murry, using Capitol's own studios and studio talent, just to keep him out of the way so that Nik could work with the Beach Boys unfettered.
It's dreadful. And Murry's version of Brian's classic "Warmth of the Sun" should have had him taken out and shot. By Brian himself, which would have possibly healed a lot of Brian's wounds early on.
Last. what's on right now--The Association's Waterbeds in Trinidad. I've enjoyed watching these guys go from folkies to rockies to psychies and back to folkies, with some of the funnest arrangements on the planet for the day, and incomparable vocal work. Huge talent. Their cover of John Sebastian's "Darlin' Be Home Soon" is the opposite of JS's stripped-down version ,and IMO it actually gains a good deal with the fleshing out that's almost inevitable with a seven-piece band. This one does not disappoint (me, at least!). This was one of their last studio albums. They are missed.
Time to put up that big mirror that the wife wanted in the bedroom. For her cosmetic applications, of course.
Finally, yesterday, had time to swap out the cartridge (Clearaudio Aurum) in the main turntable, for the Sumiko that's been sitting in its case, taunting me, for nearly a year. Since I installed the new tube preamp (Chinese--Yaoin, with good specs), I've been meaning to do this; the old preamp had fixed gain and the Sumiko's output was too low for it.
So an afternoon of honeydew stuff with some LPs in the background, recently-purchase and unlistened to until now.
First: an NOS monaural copy of The Brothers Four Greatest Hits, produced by that old R & R hater, Mitch Miller, he of the joyous countenance punctuated by one very odd trademark goatee. Great Air in some cuts, others close-miked, but such good fidelity in this 1962 issue that they were in the room with me. A good thing and a bad thing, as the whitebread folkie college quotient was a bit high on some of the cuts, and my tolerance of banjo is limited these days. But the cuts where vocals were front-and-center (classics like "Greenfields" and "My Tani" were eye-openers on modern/vintage equipment...I remember this stuff sounding like it was playing in a cotton wool room back in the day.
Next, another mono rarity--The Many Moods of Murry Wilson, written produced and conducted by the late father of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, who must've had a bizarre take on life and his place in it, judging from the cover art. However, all of the stock shots of bikini girls and casual fashion models, give a good hint of what to expect in the grooves. I heartily UN-recommend it. Oh, sonic quality is quite good for Capitol of that era, but such ****** schmaltz in arrangement and production makes it unsuitable for even dentist's office use (made my teeth ache). Story was that Nik Venet OKd this foray for Murry, using Capitol's own studios and studio talent, just to keep him out of the way so that Nik could work with the Beach Boys unfettered.
It's dreadful. And Murry's version of Brian's classic "Warmth of the Sun" should have had him taken out and shot. By Brian himself, which would have possibly healed a lot of Brian's wounds early on.
Last. what's on right now--The Association's Waterbeds in Trinidad. I've enjoyed watching these guys go from folkies to rockies to psychies and back to folkies, with some of the funnest arrangements on the planet for the day, and incomparable vocal work. Huge talent. Their cover of John Sebastian's "Darlin' Be Home Soon" is the opposite of JS's stripped-down version ,and IMO it actually gains a good deal with the fleshing out that's almost inevitable with a seven-piece band. This one does not disappoint (me, at least!). This was one of their last studio albums. They are missed.
Time to put up that big mirror that the wife wanted in the bedroom. For her cosmetic applications, of course.
Among this weekend finds are: Mingus At Monterey complete w/his letter asking his fans to send some $ to help him survive...2 Lp set known for a great take of Meditations On Integration but lousy sonics..Mahogany (not Rush) very rare Chicago style blues Lp..looking forward to that one...Bob And Ray Throw A Stereo Spectacular on RCA Living Stereo..a classic features Julie Andrews, The Belafonte Singers, Skitch Henderson, Lena Horne, Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band, Abbe Lane, The Melachrino Strings, Radio City Music Hall Organ, Sauter-Finegan..a must for the bachelor pad portion of the collection.. and the Buckingham Nicks Lp w/ the nude cover..humma 