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24.45.228.177
For info on classical lps I've often relied on various Penguin Guides and old TAS issues.Also Gramophone now has an online source which is amazing but often very slow. Recently I acquired a set of RECORDS IN REVIEW, a yearly compilation of the HIGH FIDELITY magazine. The set has 18 volumes from 1958 to 1979. I have been pleasantly surprised at how informative these books are. The authors, clearly long term classical enthusiasts, write with great erudition and authority. Many of the reviews are quite detailed, even more so than in Penguin. It strikes me that we rarely see reviews like this any more in any of the music magazines, a sad fact but perhaps not surprising as classical music has become less popular.
One great advantage of these volumes is their inclusion of many American labels not often seen in the Penguin Guides, like Vanguard, Nonesuch, Command, Connoisseur, Mercury, Epic, Urania, and others. Also I noticed that the authors seemed to like the sound of Columbia recordings more than their counterparts at Penguin.
I've seen these volumes sold individually for $40 and more but picked this set up for $175. It makes great reading on my recumbent bike.
... and while it's fun to read I sure don't consider it authoritative on many of the LPs it reviews. And clearly the reviewers' record playing equipment was not up to the task, especially when they tackled Mercury records. But that was 50 years ago and for the time they did well enough most of the time.
Some libraries might have them.
"Probability is the very guide to life."---Cicero
I cannot tell you how many poorly recorded records i purchased based on those reviews. Their inaccuracies were one of the reasons TAS and Stereophile first started.
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