monostereofidelity

I listen to records and sometimes I post what I am listening to.

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Now listening to https://open.spotify.com/album/5DeuKgqbg1Bw3AqqrwyqF7?si=m3lceF7_RSib6Qzbd4OugQ

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Santana - Moonflower

CBS S2BP 220 196

Pressed in Australia, 1977

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Wings - Venus and Mars

Capitol PCTA 254

Pressed in Australia

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Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition / Night on Bald Mountain

Symphony Records C 55

Pressed in Australia

Night on Bald Mountain was my first introduction to classical music. Our teacher played it for us in class. This particular recording was originally released on Everest Records.

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William Backhaus - Mozart Sonatas K.282, 283, 330 & 332 Rondo K.511 Decca SXL 6301

Pressed in England, 1967

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Ferde Grofe - Grand Canyon Suite Symphony Records C54

Pressed in Australia

Last night I started listening to my collection of Symphony Record pressings. I am quite impressed by their quality and I really enjoyed this particular record. This particular recording was originally released in the US on Everest Records in 1960. The Symphony Records pressings were a good find.

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Symphony Records

Yesterday I bought a stack of classical records from a local thrift shop and among them were a set of records from a label called Symphony Records.

The Symphony Record Club was a division of the Popular Record Club and it produced records originally released by famous American classical labels such as Westminster and Everest. It appears that Symphony Records used the original artwork and as far I can tell they also used the original sleeve notes.

The records I have are all mono pressings and I am guessing that the records were pressed by the Australian Record Company in Sydney. They also contain matrix numbers that match the original overseas releases. The Symphony Record Club traded from 1959  to 1963.

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The Beatles Ballads Parlophone PLAY 1005  1981

Pressed in Australia

This particular album was the last Beatles album released in the UK before John Lennon’s death. This album was released in Europe and in other parts of the world in the same year, but interestingly is wasn’t released until April in 1981 in Australia. Notice the price tag on the top right hand corner. This is very likely the price of this album when it was released in Australia.

This page has some interesting information about this release:

http://beatlesaustralia.com/26_BALLADS_index.html

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The Rolling Stones Stone Decca SCA 005 1976

Pressed in Australia

As you can see the cover my copy of this LP has seen better days. It’s a good compilation of the Stones’ early Decca material.  This album was only released in Australia and New Zealand.

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Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 in B minor, op. 74 “Pathetique”

Phillips GL 143 1963

Pressed in Australia

This is a mono pressing and there are a lot of crackles and pops but I don’t care. There are a lot of surface scratches and the label has a lot of noticible fingerprints. This record has been played a lot.

There is something wonderful about Russian artists. They wrote the most intriguing books and they wrote some very fine and stirring music.

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Elton John - Don’t Shoot Me I’m only the piano player DJM Records DJL 34722 1973

Pressed in Australia

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Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy Capitol SW 11430 1975

Pressed in Australia.

I picked this gem up for a dollar this morning. The cover had come apart, the record was dirty, and the inner sleeve was missing. There are a lot of surface scratches, but I cleaned the record with a bit of soapy water and record cleaner. I use  soapy water in a spray bottle to help break up any oil on the record surface.  It is a bit noisy but it sounds quite good. If you like middle of the road pop you will like this album.

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Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade Mercury SR90332 1963

Pressed in the USA

This is a very good pressing of Rimsky-Kosakov’s classic. The copy I have is an original pressing and it was purchased by the Australian Forces Overseas Amenities and Entertainment Fund. There is a number “47″ on the front cover and on the label which probably denotes the 47th record of a collection of records for Australian service men and women serving overseas.  In 1963 an Australian detachment was sent to Borneo during the ‘Konfrontasi’ conflict. I wonder if this record went to Borneo and came back. Either way it was very well looked after.

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A blog about the adventure of searching for classic vinyl LPs and a discussion of albums and artists and how disks came to be in my collection.

Are reproduction pressings cut from dubious sources any good?

Here is a a link to a very good article by vinydiscovery’s Tom Skipper who gives an overview on his impression of the quality of reproductions of Jazz LPs pressed in Europe. The main contention of these releases is where do these companies obtain recordings to cut their lacquers.  It is a worthwhile read. Do you agree with Tom’s opinion (try them for yourself) or are you going to stick to listening to original pressings or very expensive pressings produced by the owners of the recordings?

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Count Basie and Sarah Vaughan Roulette VCL1 4219 1970s or 1980s reissue

Pressed in Australia for the budget label Summit Records.

This a reissue of a 1961 release. My copy is a good cut despite the thin vinyl. You can’t go wrong when you pair two great acts in Jazz. This is a great listen.

The blurb on the back cover reads:

“This is the greatest assemblage of musicians ever - this is Count Basie’s band!! and then, there is Sarah Vaughan. Need we day more?”

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Eddie Condon’s Treasury of Jazz CBS Coronet KLP 673 1956

Pressed in Australia.

I got this record a few days ago at an op shop for a dollar. As you can see the vinyl is pretty much worse for wear. I bought it in the hope that it was playable. The vinyl was really dirty, so I cleaned it and while I was cleaning it I noticed a terrible warp on the edge that made the first track unplayable. I was looking forward to listening to this one. Never mind. I only paid a dollar and the money goes to charity, so I didn’t mind. Hopefully I’ll find another copy sometime.

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Wings - Wings Greatest Capitol P.256 1978

Pressed in Australia.

This was the first Wings album I bought and it was an early introduction to Paul McCartney’s post Beatles work. I remember Mull of Kintyre being a big hit in 1977 and I remember hearing songs like Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey on the radio, but don’t recall much of Paul’s other work with Wings. This is a good starting place for those who are not so familiar with Paul’s work from 1970s. Get it second hand if you can.