[78-L] Unusual LP

[Bryan Wright]

"What can anyone tell me about this recording that I recently acquired  
from
my local Goodwill store?  It's a 10" LP titled 'The Original Coon- 
Sanders
Nighthawk Orchestra - 1927-1932 - Volume Two.'"

Are you sure it's a 10-inch LP? I have a copy of the record and mine's  
a full-size 12-inch LP. I'm sure others here will chime in, but The  
Old Masters label produced at least fifty LPs reissuing records of the  
1920s and 1930s -- primarily hot dance bands (Fred Rich, Sam Lanin,  
Coon-Sanders, Gene Kardos, etc.). Original issues were on green or  
sometimes blue vinyl; later pressings are on black vinyl. The discs  
were all unauthorized, of course, but some interesting material made  
it out thanks to TOM. Transfer quality varies. As I recall, most of  
those Coon-Sanders transfers are horribly off speed, and the  
beginnings of many are clipped by fade-ins. Many early TOM LPs are  
actually quite decent in terms of presenting "flat" transfers from 78s  
that often sound quite good, but many later issues are marred by the  
addition of artificial reverb. None of the issues I've ever seen  
contain any liner notes, pictures, or other "extras." The coves just  
state the band name and sometimes provide a tracklist. That's it. They  
don't seem to be terribly rare; despite their cheap appearance, they  
must have had fairly substantial press runs. Does anyone know how many  
were pressed at a time?

Bryan W.