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Author Topic: Crazy end of year suggestion  (Read 7246 times)

Offline steveidosound

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Crazy end of year suggestion
« on: January 01, 2012, 01:36:56 AM »
OK, who else would be at home on this forum at 11PM New Years Eve?  I swear this is a perfectly sober suggestion - don't drink and never have.
I really have no right to even make suggestions being only a limited series one subscriber due to finances, but here goes anyway.
Between Paul and Prof. Keith J. I would like to suggest a new joint recording project between Reference Recordings and The Tape Project.
Record, in state of the art analog, direct to 2 track stereo tape via either Keith's and/or Paul's state of the art reel to reel,  _and_ direct to disc on the newly tweaked lathe, (and to high resolution digital as well), in a  good venue, with a good symphony,  the sonic spectacular of... wait for it... a compilation of Leroy Anderson's wonderful songs!
There have been a few of these compilations of his music done in the past, but not since the days of Living Presence and Living Stereo. Good as those are, time and even analog technology have marched on. 
I could scarcely think of a better "sonic shootout" than a prof. Johnson engineered recording of this very dynamic, but light and fun material, recorded in the ultimate analog disc vs tape vs state of the art digital formats and released in those formats as well through RR and the Tape Project.
I can only imagine how hard the logistics would be to pull this off, but I could  _not_  imagine anybody more qualified and with more combined experience at all of this to do it than a team headed by Keith and Paul !
OK, I promise, no more wacky ideas until 2012 :-)
Happy New Year Tape Project people!
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline steveidosound

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Re: Crazy end of year suggestion
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2012, 11:14:09 PM »
Well !
I can see that idea was a big success!
I really am somewhat aware of what sort of a challenge this would be on so many fronts.
Moving a lathe and tweaking it in in a remote location for a recording after it just has been perfectly set up is only one of the huge challenges.
Another is getting an orchestra to play perfectly through a  whole side of shorter compositions in one perfect take and get the stereo mix right to tape and disc with no second chances. All of this was well documented by the Sheffield Lab people back in the day. Just getting a perfectly cut side with all the quick cues, cutting the silence between tracks, all without screwing up even once is a  very major thing.
Not to mention finding an orchestra and venue that is able to pull off Leroy Anderson's rather tricky songs, many with, uh..."sound effects"  and pizzicato string parts that are not easy.
I hear mistakes and edits on my Boston Pops recordings and they "owned" this repertoire.
No question, tape and digital would be far, far easier. than the direct to disc part.

I  have liked Leroy Anderson's music since I was very young in the late 50s. Beside a childrens record of Syncopated Clock, my first memories are of a London FFRR 78 my parents had of Fiddle Faddle. Then, when we moved to California when I was 3, a friend of the family we stopped to visit in Texas, seeing that even then I had a keen interest in records and was dragging my childrens record player with me in the car,  gave me  a 10" Lp  of Anderson's music by the Boston Pops.  I still have another copy of that record now, but  I wore the 1st one out !
Last I remember seeing it,  it had a half quarter sized  chip in the edge eliminating most of the 1st song on both sides...
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline TomR

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Re: Crazy end of year suggestion
« Reply #2 on: January 05, 2012, 01:10:34 PM »
Steve, I don't know about Leroy Anderson - I have the Mercury SACD of his music, and the music is too lightweight for my taste - but I think your idea of RR and TP co-productions is terrific - so much that I suggested it myself a few months ago, under the "Nojima" subject line in the suggestion box. I also still hope for the live performance idea that the guys were kicking around a few gin and tonics ago.

Tom
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Offline Listens2tubes

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Re: Crazy end of year suggestion
« Reply #3 on: January 12, 2012, 07:57:27 PM »
For this setup I'd like Moussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. This would be the definitive recording of this work by such a great team. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
Neal - Ampex Fineline F-44, 3 - Otari MX5050BII-2, Revox A77 Mk II , Teac A 4010s, 4070, Sony TC102A, Magnecord 1020, Systemdek IIX/Dynavector Karat 17D2MKII, CEC CD3300 CDP, K Works NanoMax DAC, Van Alsine Transcendence Eight+ tube preamp, Dynaco MkIV amp pair, Paradigm Reference Studio 100 v1

Offline steveidosound

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Re: Crazy end of year suggestion
« Reply #4 on: January 12, 2012, 11:39:48 PM »
For this setup I'd like Moussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. This would be the definitive recording of this work by such a great team. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!
That would indeed be spectacular !
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...

Offline steveidosound

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Re: Crazy end of year suggestion
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2012, 11:43:45 AM »
Back to Leroy Anderson, I have now collected some vinyl and R2R of existing recordings.
His stuff was principally  recorded by the Boston Pops in the  Arthur Fiedler RCA Living Stereo (and before) era.
Theirs is the famous version of Sleigh Ride.
There are also good recordings by Frederick Fennell / Eastman Rochester Pops on Mercury (Living Presence era), and Maurice Abravanel with the Utah Symphony Orchestra.  That Vanguard recording has been re-released in both an audiophile pressing and as a Barclay Crocker tape.
However, so far, my favorite from both a sonic and performance perspective are the US Decca recordings conducted by Anderson himself with "his" un-named orchestra.
In a less ambitious scenario any of these might be a likely TP suggestion.

(BTW, I know there is already something somewhat close to this genre in TP-003 the wonderful Arnold Overtures)
« Last Edit: February 19, 2012, 12:08:49 PM by steveidosound »
Steve Williams

you don't want to know what equipment I listen to...