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Showing posts with label Soundtrack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Soundtrack. Show all posts

Various Artists - The Stingiest Man In Town

This is the last Christmas CD I received as a true Christmas gift. Considering the history of this album and me, it was the perfect way to end my Christmas.

Back in the spring of last year, I began to search through vinyl bins everywhere for Christmas albums.

During one sweep and clear mission, I came across a copy of The Alcoa Singers album "An Old Fashioned Christmas" which was based on the original 1956 TV soundtrack album.

Immediately behind this was (whaddya know?) the ORIGINAL 1956 TV soundtrack album! At first glance of this cover, the adrenalin was pumping. I thought I had hit an oil well. This was the mother lode!

I listened to the album and noticed that several of the songs listed were contained within tracks on the album and weren't separate. I decided to make two different formats - the original LP version and a separate tracks version (jump to any song instantly).

Transferring this to digital wasn't a problem at all. It was separating the two different formats out, correctly keeping the respective lineups in order, and then writing out all those MP3 tags on both different versions (I was seeing the name of Basil Rathbone in my sleep!).

It took about a week for all the grunt work but it was done. I was proud of the work I did and was all set to offer this at Christmas. My hopes on this one were pretty high.

Several months later, I was strolling through Randy's Rodeo - a truly amazing resourceful website with a great section on Christmas. Randy had listed a full slate of new Christmas releases for 2006. Taking notes as I scrolled down the list, I reached the end of the list and there it stood:


Soundtrack - Stingiest Man in Town - TV adaptation of Dicken's 'Christmas Carol' with Vic Damone, Johnny Desmond, the Four Lads, and Basil Rathbone


After all the work and effort I put into the transfer, my first thought was "HOW DARE THEY?!?!" But after I had a chance to stew, I was actually happy to see it out there. I keep hoping that record companies keep digging and digging into their archives to come up with long lost Christmas gems like this for re-release.

Fast forward to last December. My kids wanted to buy me Christmas CDs for my presents (I didn't coach them) and my wife made me a wish list of CDs. I quickly typed out a list that I knew I wanted and threw this one on, knowing it probably wouldn't be in any of the Fort Wayne stores (hence the name "wish list").

On Christmas morning, I opened new Christmas CDs from Peggy Lee, Gene Autry, Third Day, and Aimee Mann to name a few. When I opened this, I was stunned. Seems the elves from Barnes & Noble.com helped my wife located this one.


What's really scary is that my separate tracks version of the LP contained 23 tracks! If you look at track 8 of this CD, I subdivided those songs, giving me the extra track!

The songs tell the story of Scrooge and his redemption rather well. Fans of this TV special should be pleased that their long lost beloved soundtrack is finally on CD. There are some great singers on this soundtrack: The Four Lads, Vic Damone, Betty Madigan. However the two singers that make the album for me are Basil Rathbone and Johnny Desmond.

Whoever chose Rathbone for the role of Scrooge was doing their homework. He snarls, he screams, he sings! I'd put his singing performance on the same level of Albert Finney in the 1970 movie "Scrooge". I cannot wait to find the DVD or VHS of this television production to actually see Basil all Victorian-ed up!

As for Desmond, I first heard his voice in an album sampler I reviewed last year and have been actively looking for ANY Christmas stuff from him since. He's still in fine form on this album on several tracks but his duet with Basil is the highlight of the album.

This brings us to the extra songs Jasmine Records threw in at the end of this disc. According to the liner notes, many of these bonus tracks were singles issued by the solo artists at the time. Vic Damone's version of "One Little Boy" (track 23) was never released on the soundtrack (too bad - it's a gem) and Desmond's two singles (tracks 24-25) are completely different from the soundtrack cuts - much softer and Johnny's voice soars!

Tracks 27-30 are Christmas singles from Betty Madigan and Johnny Desmond that have no connection whatsoever to this production. It don't understand the reasoning behind it but I'm not complaining either. Madigan's cuts are fine and dandy, especially "We're All Kids At Christmas". Desmond's songs takes home the blue ribbon; a solemn version of "The Lord's Prayer" and a forgotten gem called "Happy Holidays To You" that is, in a word, perfect.

This Christmas special was rebroadcast for several years after the original airing in 1956 and was pushed aside by other specials like "Cinderella" (the Julie Andrews version, then the Lesley Ann Warren version), "Peter Pan", "Amahl And The Night Visitors", and "The Dangerous Christmas Of Red Riding Hood".

I hope that this re-release of the soundtrack will help get the TV production re-released as well. It's great music and a lot of fun to listen to. I can only imagine the visuals. For now.


UP NEXT: Two Super yuleblog entries tomorrow... don't miss these!


Capt

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Vince Guaraldi - A Charlie Brown Christmas (REMASTERED)

It's my personal belief that the greatest Christmas album of all time is "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Vince Guaraldi.

Even if this wasn't recorded for the Peanuts gang in 1965 and released as a soundtrack to a one-off TV special, the music would still hold up on its own. It's that good.

However, the strains of the Vince Guaraldi trio are forever linked with Linus, Lucy, Snoopy, and a boy named Charlie Brown. The music was a perfect marriage for the Peanuts characters and all its subsequent movies and TV specials.

When this newly remastered version of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was released last year, many of us were elated, ecstatic, and excited all wrapped into one.

It's no secret that the original pressings of the soundtracks on CD (1988, 2000) were not the greatest quality and fans worldwide awaited a true remastered work of art.

When it comes to high fidelity, noise reduction, and the like, I am totally clueless. I wouldn't know (and still don't know) what the wrong compression or equalization can do to a music track. I just heard the familiar tunes of my childhood cleaned up for the first time ever and I was thrilled.

However, many musicologists, critics, and longtime fans yelled "Good Grief!" Amazon.com customer reviews were either full of praise or damnation for the new release. Alternate takes and mixes were used or replaced on the new soundtrack and people wanted blood.

So what do you think of the album? Was it a moral sin for Concord Music to rearrange the music? Did they overcompensate the noise reduction button? Will future generations of kids even notice or care about these mistakes? Did Concord Music mess with not just the music but the memories as well?

For the entire weekend of January 19 - 21, I am throwing the yuleblog open for discussion on this album. Don't be shy - any opinion is welcome.

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Jeff -
People can get pretty peaved when you mess with their cherished memories, but it doesn't mean that it's not nice to have such a clear and pristine recording for anyone who didn't wear out their original recording and wants to discover the beautiful tones for the first time, fresh as can be.

I do find it weird that Track 16 just sort of ends, cut off in it's prime. That could have been a lot more subtle, but that's nit-picking...

Great album, both versions.

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Stubbyfears -
I haven't purchased the Remastered version. However, the resulting controversy reminds me very much of "New Coke." At the time "New Coke" was introduced, Coke had fallen far below Pepsi in market share. The new, much sweeter (sickeningly so) brew was, at the time, tagged as "the greatest marketing blunder of all time." Coke was "forced" to continue to sell "old Coke," as well as "New Coke." To be honest, I don't even know if they still sell "New Coke."

Yet, as the years passed, it came to light that the "blunder" was intentional and, actually, a stroke of marketing genius. Coke garnered tons of free publicity. Everybody was talking about Coke. And Coke's market share skyrocketed. And it was all intentional.

By remastering "A Charlie Brown Christmas" as they did, the record company ensured that there would be controversy, that people would be talking at length about a 40 year old album that virtually everyone already owned. Lots of the "New Chuck" would sell, but so would many copies of "Old Chuck." If the hue and cry leads to being forced to produce even more "Old Chuck," so much the better. Then will come the inevitable secondary market reprecussions..."Is 'New Chuck' more scarce than 'Old Chuck?'" (And the record companies do pay close attention to the secondary market and use that info to help determine marketing strategies.)

Its WIN-WIN for the record company. And, I imagine, very much deliberate. The ultimate goal, of course, is to make a lot of people think they must own both versions. And they probably will.

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Jeff -
I totally understand cynicism in the face of record companies regularly releasing remastered versions six months after we bought the 'regular' version, and I also think given that so many years had passed since the original version was released, plus the fact that we the audience are asking for higher and higher quality, that this version is indeed justified and welcomed. I'll give people credit to know if they want to spend money again for an enhanced version. At Christmastime, we (if I may speak for regular visitors to this site) have to become quite discerning or face the poorhouse, and think people who are old enough to shop for themselves can figure that one out pretty quickly. Just my 2 cents.

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Ernie -
I'm afraid I don't have much of an opinion. I've never been a huge fan of that music. I love the special, though.

But whatever the record company does, it just means more sales for them. I perfect reissue wouldn't have generated more sales than this issue, and certainly the controversy hasn't hurt sales one lick.

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THIS JUST IN: Concord Music posted a very interesting message at their web site on December 20, 2006 concerning this CD. Seems they've admitted their mistakes and are willing to make amends (until March 1, 2007 at least!).


Capt

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