I am going to play all my RCA Living Stereo LPs...

LSC-2400_zpswkgrdhgh.jpg


Now for a truly great one. I would put this right up there with LSC-2449 and the Royal Ballet set.

The music lends itself to a sonic spectacular, and the Decca engineers give it all they've got. The soundstage is huge, and bass is much deeper and more powerful than USA-recorded bass, and the horns are incredibly powerful. There is, I believe only one set of lacquers, the 1S/1S, and they are cut very aggressively. Each side is only about 15 minutes long, allowing the grooves to be generously spaced for maximum dynamic range. If you play this on a good turntable, you will not be disappointed.

The music is, well, ballet music from the opera. It's fat, swaggering, and brassy, and reasonably well-played. What's not to like.....except the price this LP goes for on the used market.
 
LSC-2401_zpsctmmjpek.jpg


OK, I have finally managed to photograph the next 10 records, edit the pictures, and upload them to PhotoBucket. It only took a week or so.

The next batch is definitely a mixed lot. The Copland is the first up, and it is a fine recording indeed, very detailed with good deep bass. The only problem is, I just don't care for the music. Appalachian Spring is pretentious, while The Tender Land is just boring. Your preferences may differ; if you like this music, then you might like this LP. As far as I know, there are no reissues, but the original is not terribly expensive.
 
LSC-2405_zpsr71lmfuy.jpg


This one is a wonderful Decca recording, captured on tape at Kingsway Hall by the great Decca engineer Ken Wilkinson. There is just one problem; I can't get into late Sibelius. I like the 2nd Symphony and the Violin Concerto, but the later music is just too bleak and stark for me. Curiously, I like Allan Pettersson, who is even bleaker, but he is bleak in a different way. I listened to this album several times, and it's just not for me.

It is a great recording, and is also available as a London Stereo Treasury/Decca Ace of Diamonds, a Hobson-era Classic Records reissue, and now from Chad Kassem's new RCA Decca series.
 
LSC-2413_zps527kgdzd.jpg


This is one of the finest Living Stereo chamber LPs, beautiful playing with very realistic string sound. Unfortunately, my copy is a white dog and has some problems on the Debussy side. I must remember to get a better copy!

The chamber music records sold in very small quantities, and were often never reissued. They are quite hard to find, but while they used to be expensive, they are often reasonably priced nowadays.
 
LSC-2414_zpspavhds66.jpg


Here's another beautiful chamber-music record you don't see every day. Fortunately, my copy is in perfect condition, and plays almost without noise.

It is not very difficult to produce a good recording of this sort of music, but I must say the sound is excellent. The fine and completely natural piano sound on the Brahms side is especially noteworthy, and they recorded the piece as an equal partnership, despite barely mentioning the pianist on the cover.

Never reissued, but not expensive. Laredo never did become a famous virtuoso, but went on to have a rather ordinary career as a violinist, conductor, and teacher.
 
LSC-2415_zps89xpjfvm.jpg


One more small-scale one.

I'm not crazy about the music, and both my copies have a lot of surface noise. Valin, in the RCA Bible, raves about the quality of the piano sound, but while it is good, I don't hear it as anything exceptional. I can't tell much about the performances, as I have no idea how the music is supposed to be played.

This record was issued in tiny quantities, and doesn't show up much. Anyone who wants one is going to have to do some looking.
 
LSC-2416_zpsetvr5cwt.jpg


Now here's one that's new to me. I bought it several years ago for a buck, but it had been sitting in the unplayed box ever since.

This one is definitely from the 'fun record' department of RCA. It has all the big famous numbers, with no boring recitatives or arias. They probably cheated on the recording as well in order to goose up the sound - 'Yeah, put a mike next to those anvils' - and it makes for an enjoyable experience if you're not too critical. It is the sort of record you are likely to find at a thrift store for a buck, so buy it if you see it. Never reissued, of course.
 
OK, here is the next record

LSC-2355_zpsiivtngwt.jpg


This was recorded live in Carnegie Hall in 1958. The sound is excellent for a live recording. The miking was probably very simple, and that certainly helps.

The performance is an exciting live performance without being note-perfect, or even close at times. To me, this is what classical needs, but others may have a different view.

This is a pretty common record, since Cliburn sold a lot of copies. Well worth picking up if you see it.

This is one I will be picking up. I have the Tchaikovsky PC#1 (LSC-2252) on vinyl but to be honest, after all these years, I have never warmed to it and in fact, don't even like listening to it anymore except for the third segment. (The words "gushing sentimentality" come to mind.) But this Rachmaninov PC#3...I don't own the vinyl yet but have been burning a hole through the SACD from having played it so much. :D Really enjoy it. And having played music before, I do not mind the "not quite note-perfect" performance one bit. The Rach PC#2 I also like, and is paired with LSC-2252 on the SACD (so that disc wasn't a total loss). I did borrow the RCA Van Cliburn box so I could find some targets for vinyl acquisition. It is quite a lot to work through.

I don't have many Living Stereo LPs yet, but do have a few of the Red Seals that still sound quite good. I have an ultrasonic cleaner on the way, so hopefully some of these older ones will clean up. A few were records my grandmother owned. At the worst they suffer dirt and some inner groove wear. A lot of her listening was done via the old 12-inch 78 RPM sets! We boxed up literally hundreds of them when we cleaned out their house. Very many Red Seals in there.

Enjoying this thread so far! Just discovered it. :)
 
Are they letting you golf for free or do you not want to be reminded that you're missing 2449? :)

Thanks for putting this all together! I never knew about that Valin book. Will need to keep an eye out for it.

And it looks like I've been naive. I thought a 10s meant there were 9 previous made. You're saying some albums have only one set and it could be double digit?
I've definitely passed on some due to the assumption that lower is always better and that there is always a 1s for all of them.
 
I will pick resume this thread in due course. As explained elsewhere, I am busy moving from New York to Connecticut.

As for LSC-2449, I at least have three different reissues: the Hobson Classic, the first Acoustic Sounds attempt, and the Acoustic Sounds final version. When I played all three in order at a friends house, the differences were very audible - they got better and better. So how good could the original be? (Don't answer that question!).
 
Welcome to the Great State of Connecticut!
Whereabouts? I'm about 1.5hr from Manhattan (just north of Danbury), can't afford to get any closer.
Looking forward to reading more, no rush of course...
 
Welcome to the Great State of Connecticut!
Whereabouts? I'm about 1.5hr from Manhattan (just north of Danbury), can't afford to get any closer.
Looking forward to reading more, no rush of course...

I am a Connecticut boy anyway, just coming home. I am moving to the retirement community of Oronoque in Stratford. This is close enough to NY to allow me to remain a member of the audio society there and maintain my other contacts, and I will also be joining the Connecticut Audio Society.
 
A buddy of mine is in the CAS. It's always in the back of my mind to become a member, but for some reason it never gets to the front.
 
I pick up a few LSC's at the thrift stores. My latest LSC-2302 Gilbert and Sullivan Overtures, had this pic on its sleeve. I thought someone would be interested in it as a reference.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0839.JPG
    IMG_0839.JPG
    115.3 KB · Views: 29
LSC-2418_zpsttj0q1ph.jpg


Here we have another of the fine Decca recordings with Monteux and the London Symphony. This has excellent sound and a very respectable performance of the Elgar. I actually happen to like the filler, the Brahms Variations on a Theme of Haydn, much more - here Monteux produces a ripping, driving performance that is one of the best I've heard.

The reason I am lukewarm on the Elgar is that there is a competing version, the Boult on EMI ASD 2750, that has equally good sound and a much more idiomatic performance. You can't really touch Boult on English composers, and the fillers are beautiful versions of the Vaughn Williams 'Greensleeves' and the Holst 'Folk Song Suite'.
 
LSC-2419_zpsa7crfcxc.jpg


Now for one of the truly great ones.

I had never really listened that carefully to this record in the past, but it really has it all: stunning sound, and very dynamic performances. You would not expect Martinon to outdo Hungarian conductors like Reiner on Decca/London or Dorati on Mercury, but he really goes all-out on these pieces, making Reiner seem slow and rigid in his tempos and articulation of the melodic lines. There is a huge soundstage, and the string sound is up there with the top Living Stereos.

So what's not to like? Well, good copies still go for well over $100, unless you get lucky at the thrift store. They didn't make very many of these, so don't get your hopes up.
 
Good to see you've settled in without incident and can put your attention towards some listening sessions!
I have a few of the albums in the next 150 catalog numbers and it will be nice to "listen along" as it were. One thing that has startled me following this thread is the sheer amount of Living Stereos not to mention how many I'm not aware of.
Hate to admit it, but Pomp & ... has made me gloss over Elgar when I see his albums, I should remedy that.
 
LSC-2420_zpsn8mnjxxw.jpg


Now for one that is a little on the marginal side. Not exactly my favorite music, although the performances are definitely lively.

The music is recorded very hot, and there is some overmodulation in the peak passages, either the mic preamp overloading, or the cutting amp, or maybe record wear. Side 2 also has loud tape hiss for a ten-minute stretch.

I suppose I could try to find a better copy, but the record is pretty rare anyway. Next!
 
LSC-2423_zps2zjhtyj0.jpg


Now for another great one. This has truly spectacular sound, with tremendous punch and dynamics, and fabulous performances by Reiner and the CSO.

For a contrast, I played the plum Victrola version, VICS-1068. It is equally good, but the sonic presentation is completely different. It has less deep bass, but more air around the instruments and faster microdynamics. The passages with fast tempos sounded even faster, and the slow parts even slower. If you had never heard the original, you would be impressed. But to me, the deeper bass makes the original a standout Living Stereo. Of course, it would be nice if someone could cut a record that had the good qualities of both pressings, so maybe someone would like to try the Acoustics Sounds reissue.

In any case, I would certainly highly recommend this LP. Recent prices on the original are not actually too bad, as there were a number of lacquers cut, so it must have sold fairly well considering it was reissued on Victrola three years later.

This record brings me to the end of my supply of pre-taken pictures. I'll have to pull out the next dozen LPs and phonograph them for the thread, shouldn't take long.
 
Back
Top Bottom