Overdue for a good remastering

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trev
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Overdue for a good remastering

#1 Post by trev » Thu May 08, 2014 11:19 pm

The last few years of collecting has made me appreciate more and more the work of preservationists and audio engineers in restoring and remastering the music of the Swing Era and making it available. We are fortunate to live in an age where a large percentage of recorded material from the time is available either on CD or digital download. However there's a big difference in the sound quality of the outputted product. To do it properly is unfortunately an expensive, specialised and time consuming activity.

There's a bunch of recordings that stand out in my head as overdue for a quality remastering job. I'd love to see high-end, quality sets of;
  • 1930s/40s Charlie Barnet Bluebird recordings
  • 1934 Earl Hines Decca recordings
  • 1940s Lucky Millinder Decca recordings
  • Louis Prima Decca & 1940s recordings
  • Ellington's late 20s Okeh recordings
Got any others? Have I missed a good set of one of the above?

EDIT: clarified Barnet & Millinder labels
Last edited by trev on Thu May 15, 2014 12:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Eyeball
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#2 Post by Eyeball » Fri May 09, 2014 9:40 pm

trev wrote:
Got any others? Have I missed a good set of one of the above?
Tommy Dorsey Victors from the 40s. Life long over due.
Will big bands ever come back?

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trev
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#3 Post by trev » Sat May 10, 2014 1:51 am

Ah yes, I was going to add 40s Tommy Dorsey , but I couldn't remember which ones were in need - I know the Deccas are decent.

EDIT: oops, not Decca, RCA Victor
Last edited by trev on Sat May 10, 2014 7:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#4 Post by Eyeball » Sat May 10, 2014 8:38 am

trev wrote:Ah yes, I was going to add 40s Tommy Dorsey , but I couldn't remember which ones were in need - I know the Deccas are decent.
TD 40s have never had a chronological reissue or a high tech remastering. The Sinatras came out in fair sound. The 30s came out on the Bluebird reissue series in the 70s and , iirc, early 80s and it stopped in 1939 leaving a wake of complaints about stopping before they got to the 'good stuff'. Other 40s TD Victors have come out sporadically over the past 50 (!!!) years.

Here's a nice pop TD from 1945 w the Sentimentalists - it's really good.
Tommy Dorsey - The Moment I Met You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tQ01d_Ogr4

Tommy Dorsey Deccas - do you mean the post 40s Deccas?
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#5 Post by trev » Sat May 10, 2014 7:18 pm

Eyeball wrote:Tommy Dorsey Deccas - do you mean the post 40s Deccas?
My mistake, I meant RCA/Victor. This CD is decent: http://amzn.com/B000008AS6.

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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#6 Post by Eyeball » Sat May 10, 2014 8:19 pm

trev wrote:
Eyeball wrote:Tommy Dorsey Deccas - do you mean the post 40s Deccas?
My mistake, I meant RCA/Victor. This CD is decent: http://amzn.com/B000008AS6.
That's a good one. The TD Deccas from the 50s feature a top quality band doing some indifferent material. TD dropped a lot of the Swing and went just big flashy band and a band doing pops. (This is very much my opinion). Some of those Deccas are pretty nice. He was also on the indie BELL label. They were 7 inch vinyl discs that played at 78 rpm. Excellent sound, but find some good sides is the problem.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7cbErwbmL0

Takes a while to get going and then even then...meh.

And here's a bunch of Bell label records.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4XmiXI ... FC36CF2245

There's maybe a half dozen TDs in there and a couple of Larry Clintons and one Cab Calloway. I think Artie Shaw was on this label, too. Oh! There were two Shaws on there and they were deleted!! A hand reaching from the grave! "PAY Meeeeee!!" http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/house ... y/80-1.jpg
Will big bands ever come back?

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anton
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#7 Post by anton » Tue May 13, 2014 3:54 am

trev wrote:
  • 1930s Charlie Barnet recordings
  • 1934 Earl Hines Decca recordings
  • 1940s Lucky Millinder recordings
  • Louis Prima Decca & 1940s recordings
  • Ellington's late 20s Okeh recordings
Agree with all of those. There is also a batch of Charlie Barnet Bluebird sessions between Oct 1940 and Jan 1942 that have not been issued in full on CD.

Two other personal favorites that have not been properly reissued: early Jimmy Dorsey instrumentals, early Bob Crosby instrumentals. A handful of the vocal numbers are swinging too.

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trev
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#8 Post by trev » Thu May 15, 2014 12:41 am

Dorsey and Crosby were also (mostly) Decca. It seems Universal Music Group haven't been interested in releasing/restoring them (no profit).

I did some poking around and it seems that there is hope: Universal Music Group's vintage recordings head to Library of Congress.

Not sure what this means for the likelihood of a Mosaic (or similar) release.

UPDATE: It seems it might actually make things more difficult. From the Ella/Webb liner notes:

"Since the metal parts were not made available to us (they have yet to be unpacked and catalogued at their new home in the Library of Congress) we have transferred mint 78s, vinyl test pressings from the John R.T. Davies Collection and Decca CDs from the 1990s that utilized metal mothers..."

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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#9 Post by Eyeball » Thu May 15, 2014 11:53 am

trev wrote:Dorsey and Crosby were also (mostly) Decca. It seems Universal Music Group haven't been interested in releasing/restoring them (no profit).

I did some poking around and it seems that there is hope: Universal Music Group's vintage recordings head to Library of Congress.

Not sure what this means for the likelihood of a Mosaic (or similar) release.

UPDATE: It seems it might actually make things more difficult. From the Ella/Webb liner notes:

"Since the metal parts were not made available to us (they have yet to be unpacked and catalogued at their new home in the Library of Congress) we have transferred mint 78s, vinyl test pressings from the John R.T. Davies Collection and Decca CDs from the 1990s that utilized metal mothers..."
Dorsey Deccas from the 50s have had a very limited reissue. 25 years ago i found a legit 2 cassette reissue from the UK of TD 50s material. Stuff i had never even heard of or seen before. Pleasant stuff. Some of those Deccas are on YT.

All with Jack Leonard singing in "Marie" style charts, early 50s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OocCR2bhEhw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCqg68tIDBc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql715owJmt4

Half TD - half Artie Shaw - 50s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D_PMOkRAWQ

The Dorsey Bros reunited in the middle 50s and were recording on the BELL label. Very flashy, precise band, but unexciting (to me) and very little Swing. There a bunch of these on YT where the poster has uploaded the wrong tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDv71CQymZY

Bob Crosby - only for collectors now.
Will big bands ever come back?

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trev
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Re: Overdue for a good remastering

#10 Post by trev » Tue May 20, 2014 12:34 am


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