[78-L] Goldkette "I Didn't Know" alternate??

[J. E. Knox]

Greetings from FixitLand!

Royal Pemberton wrote:

> The master that was released on LPM 2323 has a peculiar sound that  
> lasts for
> about the first 1/3 of the recording, attributed to some kind of  
> defect on
> the master itself....at least, that is what was stated was the  
> reason it
> wasn't released on record in the day.  Can anyone here explain what  
> the
> defect really is?

"Bix--Man & Legend" speaks to this in the text (not in the  
discography). The master metal part had "languished in the vaults"  
and by 1960 had "deteriorated." Listening to LPM-2323, you hear an  
intermittent hiss that with each revolution of the record grows  
shorter and shorter, eventually disappearing. That's just what you'd  
expect to hear from damage occurring to the exposed part of a  
recording stored in a sleeve with the typical cutout at the top of  
the sleeve. The sleeve protects most of the record, but that little  
five-inch-or-so-wide, one-inch-or-so-deep area is wide open and  
exposes that part of the disc to all comers -- dust, moisture,  
corrosive conditions, whatever. It's hard to describe in words, but  
if you look at any 78 you own that's stored in a "green" or heavy  
brown sleeve, or in an album, you'll know what I'm trying to say.  
Such "deterioration" took many years to occur; I believe the master  
would have been perfectly serviceable in 1924 had the decision been  
made to issue it. I gather no early test pressings are known to  
exist. Too bad.

Although Take 2 of "I Didn't Know" was marked "Master," nothing is  
said in "Bix--Man & Legend" about why it wasn't released. The ledger  
says "N. L." (not listed). B--M&L talks about recording director  
Eddie King's distaste for Bix's cornet solo on the first two takes  
and how the part was played by another band member for the latter  
three takes.

Jean-Pierre Lion's Bix book doesn't seem to offer much about the  
session other than reiterating Eddie King's opinion of Bix's playing.

It also appears that no other Victor band recorded "I Didn't Know."

Take care,


Joe
--
"Cats regard people as warm-blooded furniture."--Jacquelyn Mitchard