I am going to play all my RCA Living Stereo LPs...
- Thread starter vinyl1
- Start date
juncers
Reasonably skeptical about everything
V1 is still around. It takes a lot of work to write a good review. He's just taking a break.
Ray
KrisM
Lunatic Member
I'm not sure why but it seems every household in America in the late 50s and early 60s had to own at least one recording of Scheherazade. They show up everywhere when digging through LPs at garage sales and thrift stores.
I've never come across either Living Stereo ones but then, I haven't been collecting them that long.
I picked up a couple pop ones this weekend. Arthur Murray's Music for Dancing (because why not?) and this particular gem that I'm working on a needledrop of right now.
I noticed the same thing. I think I've come across quite a few copies of it. It's almost right up there with Four Seasons, in my travels.
That Atkins would be worth it for the cover alone. Very cool.:thmbsp:
LivingColour
Active Member
Ok, just checking.
vinyl1
Super Member
Thread will resume shortly. Had to get new phono preamp, and I need a new camera. I am also healthy enough to play a little golf, and I'm making up for the season I missed last year.
Not to mention being a Times for the Times blogger (under the 'vinyl1' nic, no less), and having a demanding job.
Not to mention being a Times for the Times blogger (under the 'vinyl1' nic, no less), and having a demanding job.
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
Great to know that!
BlindBoyGrnt
Nullius in verba
Just picked up "The Virtuoso Liszt" by Graffman (LSC-2443) for a buck, and it plays fine. This one is different than most, as it's a Telefunken-Decca German pressing. No Nipper on the record, just the RCA letters.
RogerKulp
Super Member
...in numerical order. The member who started the thread about playing all his LPs inspired me, but of course if you have more than 5000 records it would be very difficult to play them all. This at least seems possible, since I only have about 300 titles. Most of them are shaded-dog originals, although a few are white dogs from the 1964-68 era.
I don't have everything of course; I believe I am missing about 100 titles or so. Some I never bothered with, some are just too expensive and hard to find. I will note the missing ones in the appropriate place.
I am going to try to play one a day, but I may get tired of classical music after a couple of weeks and have to listen to something else for a while.
Why am I doing this? Well, I have all these great records I collect but never really play, even though I enjoy them when I do play them. This will give me a chance to get re-acquainted with the whole catalog.
I will supply some notes about the records and their background, along with recommended and NOT recommended reissues. Feel free to comment about your experiences with them, since I haven't heard every pressing or reissue.
Tonight's LP is the Strauss Also Sprach Zarathrustra, with Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, recorded in 1954 and first issued in stereo in either very late 1958 or early 1959. Here is my copy:
This is an excellent example, complete with the original pink promotional sticker still intact, which I was lucky to acquire at a very reasonable price. As you may know, there was only one lacquer of this LP, the 1S/1S, since it was re-recorded in 1962 and went out of print. It was reissued as a plum Victrola in 1963, and is pretty common in that format. The sound of the plum Vic is a little darker, and lacking a bit in the magic of the original.
Playing my copy tonight, I was struck by the beautiful string sound that is characteristic of early RCA recordings. I'm not sure what their secret was, but no other label was ever able to match it. The woodwind playing is also very vividly rendered. As you would expect from Reiner, the performance is tightly controlled, which is well suited to this type of music.
Next up: LSC-1817
Got all but one of the non-Soria LSC Living Stereos myself.The only one I'm missing is the Julliard "Trout".Bought them all at thrift stores,mostly from 1989-2001.Unfortunately some jackass removed most of the sticker from my LSC-1875 Zarathustra.My LSC-1817 Gaiete is a M- 10s/11s.Recently found a 1s/3s in VG+,never thought I would see a duplicate.
WOW! Glad this thread is alive again.
One of the BEST live recordings I've ever heard is "Belefonte at Carnegie Hall", LSO-6006. I got a scratchy copy at Goodwill for $0.50. I liked it so much, I had to get a good copy. The applause itself is worth listening to. I've been told it sounds even better on reel-to-reel. (Most everything does).
This thread is great! Once it branches out to the "Stereo Action" series, it'll really be fun!
One of the BEST live recordings I've ever heard is "Belefonte at Carnegie Hall", LSO-6006. I got a scratchy copy at Goodwill for $0.50. I liked it so much, I had to get a good copy. The applause itself is worth listening to. I've been told it sounds even better on reel-to-reel. (Most everything does).
This thread is great! Once it branches out to the "Stereo Action" series, it'll really be fun!
guiller
Toscaninichus Australis
Great news!
vinyl1
Super Member
After a short hiatus....
....I am back at work with a new phono preamp and a new camera.
Here is the next Living Stereo LP, LSC-2213:
The Herron VTPH-2 really picks up a lot more detail than the former inhabitant, and shows what Living Stereo is all about. It's not that there is such a tremendous dynamic range, and the frequency range is not that great either. Rather, there is a tremendous musical flow produced by the microdynamics and ease of what is there, a glimpse into an orchestra of 50 years ago through a small but clear window.
On this particular LP, in particular, the soundstage is on the smallish side, and the dynamics are not large. What is present is the ravishing string sound that RCA was famous for, and very accurate tonality from the other instruments. The first side is the best, with the Vaughn Williams Greensleeves Fantasy and the Merry Wives of Windsor Overture. Some not-so-immortal contemporary film music starts to creep in on side 2, which may not be to everyone's taste.
....I am back at work with a new phono preamp and a new camera.
Here is the next Living Stereo LP, LSC-2213:
The Herron VTPH-2 really picks up a lot more detail than the former inhabitant, and shows what Living Stereo is all about. It's not that there is such a tremendous dynamic range, and the frequency range is not that great either. Rather, there is a tremendous musical flow produced by the microdynamics and ease of what is there, a glimpse into an orchestra of 50 years ago through a small but clear window.
On this particular LP, in particular, the soundstage is on the smallish side, and the dynamics are not large. What is present is the ravishing string sound that RCA was famous for, and very accurate tonality from the other instruments. The first side is the best, with the Vaughn Williams Greensleeves Fantasy and the Merry Wives of Windsor Overture. Some not-so-immortal contemporary film music starts to creep in on side 2, which may not be to everyone's taste.
LivingColour
Active Member
Nice
vinyl1
Super Member
Continuing on....
....we come to the one Living Stereo described in the RCA Bible as 'poor'.
Playing the LP, I did not think it was that bad, maybe acceptable, but not great. Then I played the next one and remembered what an RCA is supposed to sound like, and yes, it's poor. If it was a Columbia, or a Westminster, I suppose some might call it fair to middling.
There are many great Dvorak 9th Symphonies around, many in fine sound. There's the first Kertesz, with the Vienna, on Decca/London, and the first Kubelik, also with the Vienna and also on Decca/London. If you want an RCA, there is a nice Fiedler with the Boston Symphony, LSC-3134, not a Living Stereo but a highly acceptable recording. But for my money, the combination of best sound and best performance is the Horenstein/Royal Philharmonic. recorded for Reader's Digest by the great Kenneth Wilkinson using Decca equipment. The original is hard to find, but the reissues are cheap.
....we come to the one Living Stereo described in the RCA Bible as 'poor'.
Playing the LP, I did not think it was that bad, maybe acceptable, but not great. Then I played the next one and remembered what an RCA is supposed to sound like, and yes, it's poor. If it was a Columbia, or a Westminster, I suppose some might call it fair to middling.
There are many great Dvorak 9th Symphonies around, many in fine sound. There's the first Kertesz, with the Vienna, on Decca/London, and the first Kubelik, also with the Vienna and also on Decca/London. If you want an RCA, there is a nice Fiedler with the Boston Symphony, LSC-3134, not a Living Stereo but a highly acceptable recording. But for my money, the combination of best sound and best performance is the Horenstein/Royal Philharmonic. recorded for Reader's Digest by the great Kenneth Wilkinson using Decca equipment. The original is hard to find, but the reissues are cheap.
vinyl1
Super Member
I was surprised at how good this one was
This is by no means a famous RCA, but the sound and performance is really very fine. Not an overly emotional performance, as you would probably expect, but it has its moments. The competition, from Monteux, Mravinsky, and Markevitch, is rather intense, but you could do worse, and this is certainly worth picking up if you find a copy in the wild.
This is by no means a famous RCA, but the sound and performance is really very fine. Not an overly emotional performance, as you would probably expect, but it has its moments. The competition, from Monteux, Mravinsky, and Markevitch, is rather intense, but you could do worse, and this is certainly worth picking up if you find a copy in the wild.
Ilikevinyl
Cool Breeze
Larry Elgart & his Orchestra / New Sounds AT The Roosevelt
1959 RCA Living Stereo