More Live Echoes of the Swinging Bands by The Big 18

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Haydn · #16 Post by **Haydn** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:44 am

Eyeball wrote:How good is this, really? ... Is there something that makes this one better than so many others of its kind?

I've just got both CDs, and compared with the late 50s Glen Gray/Casa Loma recordings (aka "Big Band Sounds"), the band just has a lot more energy and feel for the music. Once or twice, you can the band shouting in the background, which suggests they really enjoyed playing.

Eyeball · #17 Post by **Eyeball** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 3:49 pm

Haydn wrote:
Eyeball wrote:How good is this, really? ... Is there something that makes this one better than so many others of its kind?
I've just got both CDs, and compared with the late 50s Glen Gray/Casa Loma recordings (aka "Big Band Sounds"), the band just has a lot more energy and feel for the music. Once or twice, you can the band shouting in the background, which suggests they really enjoyed playing.

Thx for that. At least that gives a clue to the content.

I dont find myself listening to the Gray/May recreations. They are certainly worthy, though.

*See my new thread!

Balboa Chris · #18 Post by **Balboa Chris** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:45 am

Took a listen to those track snippets on Allmusic and while there appears to be some cracking music there, it does make me wonder whether it would be possible, using the original masters, to re-release the albums with some/all of the reverb/echo removed.
It seemed to be a trait in many later recordings to make it sound like the band are playing in a huge empty hall.

Eyeball · #19 Post by **Eyeball** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:16 am

Balboa Chris wrote:......... reverb/echo ......
It seemed to be a trait in many later recordings to make it sound like the band are playing in a huge empty hall.

The 'concept' was to give the public what someone perceived was what the public wanted - this form of 'hi-fi'.

The one time I met John R.T. Davies he said that at some point the record industry stopped trying to record sound naturally and began making 'phonograph records' instead; i.e. a production instead of a recording.

It got worse as the 50s and 60s rolled on and the nightmare of "electronic stereo" aka "simulated stereo" aka "fake stereo" (every company had their own name for it) was unleashed on the public,

But that's another story.

Haydn · #20 Post by **Haydn** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:29 am

The problem with reverb is it's easy to add but very hard to remove once it's there.

Eyeball · #21 Post by **Eyeball** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 7:43 am

Haydn wrote:The problem with reverb is it's easy to add but very hard to remove once it's there.

Maybe they do not have to remove it.

Maybe there is a separate set of master tapes w/o the reverb.

straycat · #22 Post by **straycat** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 3:11 am

It seems that the Big 18 have now made it onto eMusic.

http://www.emusic.com/artist/The-Big-18 ... 74326.html

Haydn · #23 Post by **Haydn** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:10 am

straycat wrote:It seems that the Big 18 have now made it onto eMusic.

http://www.emusic.com/artist/The-Big-18 ... 74326.html

Which is amazing, if you remember how expensive these CDs used to be (and still are).

#24 Post by **JesseMiner** » Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:57 pm

straycat wrote:It seems that the Big 18 have now made it onto eMusic.

http://www.emusic.com/artist/The-Big-18 ... 74326.html

Currently unavailable in the US!

Jesse

anton · #25 Post by **anton** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 1:09 am

Unauthorized reissues, but still...

Balboa Chris · #26 Post by **Balboa Chris** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:25 pm

Also now available on Amazon UK.