Nothing better than watching the reels in the semi dark,playing this stellar album that is perfect for this time of night,recorded from the cd copy.
Talk Talk - Spirit of Eden
Just acquired, and giving a spin to, the oldest pre-recorded stereo reel in my collection:
Vic Dickenson Septet with Ruby Braff
1953 A-V Tape Libraries Inc. (under license from Vanguard) AV-707B
2-T, 7.5 IPS Stereophonic
Cold War pops. I ended up with a stack of tapes from the early '60s from the NORAD Concert Band. Some are all music (Big Band style) and some are very slick productions with a host and short "commercials" and invited comments by top brass extolling the importance of a strong US-Canadian aerospace defence. NORAD was only a couple of years old at the time.
Anyway, apart from the weird trip back in time (I wasn't even born yet...) the sound is PF amazing. Way cleaner and more detailed than anything I've managed to get off of vinyl.
Acetate, schmacetate.....