[78-L] Decca operettas remastered

[Doug Pomeroy]

Hi,

Yes, I worked on all of those DECCA Broadway CDs.
And, yes, I transferred the music from original 16" glass-base
lacquers whenever they were available.  They certainly sound
superior to any Decca shellac pressings.

The Merry Widow CD was originally issued with errors, as noted.
And tracks 3 and 9 were swapped!  (I'm not responsible for the
notes.)

Doug Pomeroy

> Message: 13
> Date: Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:17:50 -0500
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Decca operettas remastered
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Message-ID: <4B50B14E.6060309 at sympatico.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> They did a number of musicals as well, like Song of Norway and  
> Carmen Jones (I
> know there were others). Doug Pomeroy worked on several of these.
>
> Previously, Decca/Universal/MCA just threw musicals out on CD  
> without proper
> documentation. Carousel has extra tracks which may or may not be  
> alternates. On
> The Town has an alternate of the opening number but no info as to  
> why it exists
> (it's not in the Decca Books).
>
> dl
>
> DAVID BURNHAM wrote:
>
>> I don't know if this series is still available in the US, and I've  
>> never seen it in Canada, but in 2002, I found a series of Decca  
>> Broadway Operettas remastered on CD.  As far as I know, there were  
>> only 8 titles in the series: Babes in Toyland, The Red Mill, The  
>> Merry Widow, The Student Prince, The Desert Song, The New Moon,  
>> Roberta and The Vagabond King.  The booklets include all the  
>> original cover art and the notes say they are remastered from  
>> lacquered glass masters.  I realize that most of these sets are  
>> always to be found in any pile of 78s and that most collectors  
>> wouldn't give them a second thought, but since, as a child, I had  
>> many of these albums and played them to death, I have a nostalgic  
>> attachment to them.
>>
>> But the main attraction of this series is the sound!  The quality  
>> of sound is more like late 50s than mid 40s.  Occasionally there  
>> is a hint of surface noise but it is very subtle.  The sound is  
>> rich, with brilliant percussion, clear consonnants, (text I could  
>> never make out on the 78s is crystal clear), no distortion and  
>> solid natural bass.
>>
>> One interesting, (and unintentional), "bonus" for collectors is  
>> that in its first release, "The Merry Widow" included an alternate  
>> take of "I Love You so - The Merry Widow Waltz" and left off the  
>> Finale.  At first I thought they'd just included the same cut  
>> twice but they're clearly different - for one thing, at the end of  
>> the second one, Kitty Carlisle sings a wrong note and goes  
>> painfully sharp on the last note.  On its second release, the  
>> second version of this cut was dropped and the Finale was brought  
>> back.
>>
>> db
>>

Doug Pomeroy
Audio Restoration & Mastering Services
Transfers of metal masters, lacquers,
shellac and vinyl discs & tapes.
193 Baltic St
Brooklyn, NY 11201-6173
(718) 855-2650
pomeroyaudio at att.net

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long  
plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die  
like dogs. There's also a negative side."
      - Hunter S. Thompson