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LSC 2400, 10" German Pressing. I've never seen a German 12" issue of this, so maybe this was the only version they made. I don't know if this is my favorite RCA, but it's close, and it's the one I'm most attached to. If I was forced to pick a "desert island" Living Stereo, this would probably be the one.
Found this one today for a buck in a thrift store. I don't think I have ever seen a 10" Living Stereo. I've seen some 7" EPs, but never one like this. It has all of the music that is on the 12" LP (which you can see from the pic below), and it is in near-perfect condition. Looks like it was played once.Put it on, not expecting a whole lot, but I have to say, it sounds pretty damn good. It sounds a lot like what I would expect a Decca pressing to sound like. The top end is a little brighter than the shaded dog, and there may be a bit less weight in the bottom end, but not much. I have to listen some more, but at first blush it seems to be more transparent. I was hearing details that I didn't seem to have noticed before.
The back story on this recording for me is that it was my intro to Living Stereo, in a way. My aunt, who was an amateur dancer and big time ballet fan, gave me the Victrola for Christmas in the late 60's. I loved the energy of the performances, and always thought it was one of the best sounding records that I owned (long before I had any idea about its place near the top of the Living Stereo Pantheon). I played it to death. When I really got into vinyl again, about 20 yrs ago, the Classic Records of this was one of the first that I bought. I have most of the versions of it, from my trusty original Vicrola (a little the worse for wear) to the shaded dog and the Classic 45 set. I'd love to get a Decca pressing, but the SB only comes up once in a blue moon and goes for too much. At any rate, this is a really cool addition to my collection (made even cooler by only costing me a buck).
Edits: 11/18/14Follow Ups:
I would think it would be rather compressed and bass-shy if they stuffed all this music onto a 10" LP. I agree the SB is the one to have.
The rights for this LP would have reverted to Decca after they broke up with RCA in 1967. There may well be some sort of Decca-label reissue, perhaps under a different title.
I think in a number of cases, there was a synergy in the combination of Decca recording and RCA mastering and pressing that really worked. For records that were recorded by Decca, more often than not I prefer the US pressings, often because of the string tone, which is an area where US pressings are consistently better. This is especially obvious on recordings like "Venice". which has some of the best string sound in the catalogue. I have both versions of that and I much prefer the US pressing. Decca pressings tend to be a little more dynamic and transparent, so sometimes it is the music that determines which one is better.
Oddly, some of the ones where I prefer the Decca pressing the most are recordings done by RCA. I especially like the SB of the Heifetz Sibelius concerto, and the Rubinstein Rachmaninoff 2 as well (which does not sound that good to me on the shaded dog). I almost always prefer Decca pressings of operas, regardless of who recorded them. The UK issue of the Price/Karajan Tosca is a killer, and the UK of the Soria Walkure is very good, as well.
Minutia, to be sure, but interesting. Just my humble observations. Listening on a different system might turn all of this on its head, who knows?
Yes, it is complete, everything that is on the 12" LP is on this 10". I added a pic to the OP from the back of the jacket so you can see that it is the same. When I saw that, I had the same thoughts as you, which is why I didn't expect much out of it, but I was surprised. It probably works OK because it isn't a very long record, probably not more than 35 minutes of music, which can be fit onto a 10" record without too much problem. I haven't compared the levels, but it does not seem to have been mastered at a particularly low level. It just goes to show what a black art mastering records is. There are so many factors that can potentially affect the quality that it's nearly impossible to make assumptions about whether a record will be any good or not.There is a UK Victrola that was pressed by Decca. With a little effort I'm sure I can dig one of those up for a reasonable price. I would not be surprised if the Victrola was pressed from the same stampers as the SB. There was never a Stereo Treasury or Ace of Diamonds issue of this that I know of. I think some of it may have appeared on one of the Decca SPA "World of..." discs, which can be good.
Edits: 11/18/14 11/18/14
What you are looking for is Decca SPA 203 'The World of Ballet Vol. 3'. It contains the stuff from LSC 2400+ Massenet, El Cid with Martinon.
I thought I remembered that. I have to look, I may already have that one. Another one of those has the Faust Ballet from LSC 2449, which was the only UK issue of anything from that album.
Except that there is a British Victrola VICS 1108.
BTW I just compared various editions of LSC 2400. Both Victrolas ( UK and US ) are very good, a bit more spectacular than the LSC. But then there is the string tone of the LSC.......which is in a class of its own.
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