Vinyl Asylum

Posted by mr.bear (A) on April 21, 2017 at 13:20:06

My latest find from the big stack features "all the human ear can sense and hear..." taking us up to a stratospheric 16,000 cycles per second (as claimed on the sleeve). And ...it's recorded in Hollywood- Like WOW, Daddy-o.

This 1958 Somerset Stereo-Fidelity LP "The Video All-Stars play TV Jazz Themes" dropped from heaven (or arose from the dusty floor under the bins at Half Price Books in Seattle, more likely) and plays beautifully. I'm whipping it with my new Sony VL5's conical stylus today and the sound is mellow. They really cut loose on Peter Gunn theme of course. And the band members singing the "77 Sunset Strip" theme is totally hilarious!

Actually the Skip Martin's big band is quite fine- must be the best LA session men of the age 'cuz Skip had the credentials: "arranger in the 1930s and 1940s [for] Count Basie, Charlie Barnet (1939-40), Benny Goodman (1941), and Glenn Miller (1941-42); doubling as a reedist with the last three." I think that's him on the licorice stick here- it sorta stands out.

Early stereo LP's like these have a certain endearing quality, somehow managing to communicate the essential jet-set/Mad-Men grooviness of the era, but softly. They seem to exaggerate the stereo separation yielding an incoherent image - so what?