[78-L] re-issues

[Michael Biel]

From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> Never seen the ten-inch Alice (and the ones that Mother gives
> you don't do anything at all)..the twelve-inch set turns up
> everywhere and the Canadian pressings were actually pretty quiet. dl

The only vinyl set I've ever seen is the one I have.  I went thru at
least one if not two shellac sets when I was a little kid, and when I
was a teen I kept finding empty albums or incomplete sets till finally
finding a complete set.  The only 10-inch LP I've seen is the one that I
borrowed (and returned) from my elementary school when I was in 6th
grade.  It is amazing that it never was put on a 12-inch LP, even
Vocalion.  Ginger Rogers herself loved it and wrote about it in her
autobiography.  (She had nothing but bad things to say about her earlier
musical records which she says she had not approved for release.)

The ten-inch 78s are pretty good and much quieter but there is a little
ooph that missing from it compared with the shellacs.  I'd love to hear
a modern transfer from the lacquers but I suppose that is now impossible
because I bet they went up in the Universal vault fire.  (I've recently
heard some very discouraging words from someone who knows but I'm not at
liberty to say more.  Don't ask, Alice.)

Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com 


Michael Biel wrote:
> I have both the Ginger Rogers "Alice In Wonderland" and "Porgy and Bess
> Vol 1" in the 10-inch vinyl size. The cover of Alice was changed to the
> same cover the 10-inch LP had, a wide orange border with a bland black
> and white rendition of the original beautiful color Disney cover, and
> Porgy was changed to an unnecessarily modernistic artists rendition of
> the original photograph. Having Porgy Vol 1 on 10-inch size allowed it
> to match the Vol 2 and Vol 3 which were both originally 10-inch. Having
> Alice on vinyl allowed the records to survive kids -- the 12-inch
> shellacs are very prone to crumbling and cracking even in adult hands.
> 
> Mike Biel mbiel at mbiel.com