[78-L] Original Sound of the 20s~Frances Williams

[Rodger Holtin]

Yes, I didn't know about the Gershwin edit until that record showed up on one of those Rockefeller New World albums.  The most obvious edit is the opener to the Buddy Rogers record, "this is my first recording...,"  Why, oh why, would they do that??  (And what record did they lift it from?)
 
My ear says maybe they chopped of the ending of Rudy Vallee's "Outside" and Cliff Edwards' "Sunday," also.  Having not run into originals or other reissues of these titles, I have no idea.
What else was edited?
 
I agree about the Willard Robison being such a fine record, and I, too, would guess that the Francis Williams is much later than the 1920's, but still an interesting item.  
 
One of my favorites is the twin piano version of "Kitten on the Keys."  I've never heard another version that measures up anywhere near close to that one.  Pity it's acoustical, but notice that it is one of only three acoustics on the whole album, and well worth the effort.  
 
Sophie Tucker's unissued autobiographical version of "Some of These Days" is worth the price of the album.  The guy who wrote the booklet said the inclusion of Bix's "In A Mist" was worth the price of the album, and he was right, too.  The copy they put on The Bix Beiderbecke Story Vol 3 "(Whiteman Days") was so muddy that the brighter if slightly gritty copy on C3L-35 was well worth the price.  
 
Still don't understand why "Home on the Range" made the list, but all in all, it was a very good example of what a great reissue could be - a true masterpiece.  "I would have paid list for it."  ($12.00)
 
I bought mine at the age of 14 via mail order from Chesterfield Music, with $8.40 of lawn mowing money.  I threw away the original flyer that I ordered it from just a few years ago.  It inspired me to drum up more clientele, and look for old Columbia records.  Looking at the discography confirmed for me the relationship I had suspected between Columbia, Harmony, Okeh, but Perfect was a surprise.  Not long after, I got my copy of the Perfect Catalog from Record Research, and that's another thread.
 
Ah, the good old days.

Rodger

For Best Results use Victor Needles.

.

--- On Fri, 1/16/09, David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca> wrote:

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: [78-L] Original Sound of the 20s~Frances Williams
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Date: Friday, January 16, 2009, 11:29 AM

One thing that bothered me was why Columbia would do slight edits on some 
tracks on that and on other reissues..the intro to Gershwin's "Someone
to Watch 
Over Me" is missing. Were they trying to trap record pirates?

dl

Taylor Bowie wrote:
> It was a life-changer for me.  Although I'd already started to buy
odds and 
> ends of 78s The Original Sounds of the 20s opened up my eyes to all sorts
of 
> stuff which seemed very exotic at the time.  At age 12 I was able to buy
the 
> damn thing and even had enough extra dough to pick up The Bix Beiderbecke 
> Legend for $2.79 at the same place (record department of the long-gone 
> Frederick & Nelson department store here in Seattle).
> 
> The one track on the whole set which bugged me the most was the unissued 
> Willard Robison of I've Got A Feelin' I'm Falling.  Then and
now I thought 
> it was one of the best records ever made and I was sad that I could never 
> get a 78 of it.
> 
> But finally I did...one of those English "test pressing"  things
on white 
> plastic which came out in the 70s or 80s.  I forget who made them or 
> why....but it plays beautifully.
> 
> The other mysterious track on the set is the Frances Williams w/ piano of 
> Sunny Disposish.  Clearly (to me) it was recorded later than the
20s...does 
> anyone have any details about that track?
> 
> Taylor B
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Michael Biel" <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 10:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Original Sound of the 20s
> 
> 
>> David Weiner wrote:
>>> This must be a habit in the record biz.
>>>
>> Notice that both examples are from the same company, so it might not
be
>> the total record biz.  There was a threat of a lawsuit when BMG tried
to
>> eliminate the entire Bluebird label when they were still in the middle
>> of several "complete" series, perhaps Fats Waller and a
couple of
>> others.  BMG had to back down and issue THOSE albums, and THEN dump
>> Bluebird.
>>
>> The Epic sets Dave mentions ARE the replacements for Orig Sound of
30s.
>> Got that info straight from Larry Carr at the time.  You get six discs
>> instead of three, plus the second 2-disc Bing set.  This was at the
>> point when Columbia wanted to switch the reissues from Columbia to
>> Epic.  They had done Dick Powell, Alice Faye, and Bing in Hywd on
>> Columbia and then did the others on Epic.  It was later on that they
got
>> back to finishing the Bings, doing them on three separate Columbia
>> albums.  Remember that essay on the innersleeves about Bing stiffing
>> Brooks for an interview?  And those great label photos on the sleeves?
>> Miles Kreuger had started preparing a complete Jolson for Columbia,
and
>> that finally came out (incomplete) for Arlington's Nostalgia Book
Club.
>> But Miles got a complete set of Jolson vinyl test pressings out of it.
>>
>> By the way, I have long said that The Original Sound of the Twenties
was
>> the album that changed my life.  It legitimized what I was interested
>> in, especially because of the extended essay in the booklet.   All the
>> other reissues were either big band or were out-of-print like the
things
>> on X and The Old Curiosity Shop.  I never saw those until later.  This
>> was the first time it was legit for me to like non-swing or non-opera
>> 78s.  Rich Markow also tells the same story.  Rich was working for
Rose
>> Records/Sounds Good Records when Orig Sound was deleted.  He called me
>> up and asked how many sets I wanted to order.  Three.  So I have five
>> copies including one with the original cream colored box with the
purple
>> printing on the spine.  I keep forgetting to bring one to Leah.
>>
>> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>>>  The Original Sound of the Twenties
>>> booklet also promised forthcoming editions for the early Thirties,
mid
>>> Thirties etc, and I'm still waiting for those, too - or
they're extremely
>>> rare!
>>>
>>> Rodger
>>> -----
>>> Epic sort of picked up where "The Original Sound of the
Twenties" ended,
>>> with the 2-LP set, ENCORES FROM THE 30s, 1930-35 Volume 1.  There
never 
>>> was
>>> a Volume 2, but two additional Epic 2-LP sets, "THOSE
WONDERFUL GUYS/GALS 
>>> OF
>>> STAGE, SCREEN & RADIO" rounded out the decade of the 30s.
>>>
>>> Dave W.
>>>
>>> ___________
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