[78-L] Decca operettas remastered

[David Lennick]

Were the glass lacquers vertical or lateral cuts? I think the notes to the 
Billie Holiday box set referred to vertical cuts.

dl

Doug Pomeroy wrote:
> 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
>