Grab a coffee and sit a spell... have I got a story to tell you!
I bought this album (mono) at a thrift store in early 2006 and attempted to transfer it over throughout that year. As the 2006 Christmas downloading season was set to begin, I had completed side one with no problems, but side two was a mess.
I figured it would be ready to go for 2007 but the LP had other plans. The needle would not stay on the last two tracks of side two. As much as I tried to get it recorded, I couldn't get clean copies of the song to edit together!
I continued to work on this, off and on, for the better part of 1 1/2 years. I had finally gotten the first of the two final tracks recorded and I kept plugging away on track ten - I would apply pressure onto the tone arm just enough for the needle to go through the scratch to get the precious one second segment I needed to piece the track together.
By the middle of this year, I was down to the last 30 seconds of the final song and despite all my efforts, the needle would not cooperate. It was frustrating because this is a fantastic sounding album and I've wanted to share it for so long.
I looked on eBay in desperation and they had a clean STEREO copy available!
I decided to post the mono because of all the work invested into it and it cleaned up amazingly well after I washed it through my Sound Forge software. The stereo version is good as well. The choice is yours.
I've tried Googling Bobby Roberts but can't find little else than what's on the back cover - he was a popular Philadelphia band leader who recorded this for Decca in 1959.
Which is a shame because despite all my troubles with the mono copy, I've grown to love this album. It's a great mix of Christmas, Big Band, popular music (set at breakneck speeds at times), and some great Latin music thrown in for flavor.
Of all the albums I'm offering for 2008, this is my favorite. Hope you like it too.
Bobby Roberts & His Orchestra - Holiday Music For Happy People - MONO
Bobby Roberts & His Orchestra - Holiday Music For Happy People - STEREO
Happy listening...
Capt
