[78-L] Frosty the Snowman

[DAVID BURNHAM]

A couple of years ago I bought a CD which claimed to be the "Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings", by Gene Autry.  On this CD, "Frosty the Snowman" always bothered me - it just didn't sound right.  When you hear a song like this umpteen times every Christmas throughout your childhood every nuance - the rhythm of the words, the balance between the piccolo and the clarinet in the opening, etc. - become etched in your brain.  All of the other selections on this CD with which I was familiar sounded the same as I'd always heard them, (except I find "Here Comes Santa Claus" a bit duller than on the 78).  I just now listened to the CD and the 78 side-by-side to see if there was something which described the difference.  They're obviously from the same recording session, the same musicians, arrangement and pickup but I finally found something which ensures that these are two different recordings: on the 78 he sings "Weren't they surprised when before
 their eyes.....", and on the CD he sings "Were they surprised, before their eyes.....".  Also as I mentioned, in the opening the balance between the piccolo and the clarinet is different but this might be accomplished just by varying the equalization.  In the opening line, the rhythm of the words is subtly different but there's no way to describe that in an e-mail.  

Does anyone know if this version was ever released on 78 or did something happen to the master of the original version or did the crew who compiled the CD just grab the wrong tape off the shelf?

db