Volume One-Ten Years On

For a little while now, I've been telling myself that if I ran across all twelve volumes of For Hi-Fi Living at once, I'd consider revisiting my share from ten years ago.  Well, guess what I found yesterday in Ft. Myers?  Yep, all twelve volumes in a single box of records.  Most of them were together, but the last two were way at the back of the box.  So I plunked down my dollar each and brought them home.  I didn't realize until I started researching that I had begun sharing out the series the first time just a hair over ten years ago, which also happened to be fifty years after this series was released (then quickly forgotten).  Now it's been sixty years, and I'm doing my best to keep it from being forgotten.  If you want to see the original post, that's here, and my even older post about the doodle on the back side is here.  This goes way, way back.  This time around is all new rips from the just-discovered vinyl, as well as all new scans.  I think the covers on this set are a little rougher than what I had last time, at least as far as this first one goes.  The music is certainly a lot better though.  I've gotten much better at my craft over the years.  ClickRepair alone has made for much better recordings.  In addition to removing the clicks, it works miracles on these mono recordings by comparing the L and R channels of my rip and picking the cleaner side at any given time.  I'm pretty amazed with what it spits out sometimes.  However, this music doesn't swing or rock.  All it does is soothe.  It's amazing to me to think about what else was going on at RCA at about the same time, with the purchase of Elvis Presley's recording contract, the impending switch to stereo, and a whole slew of technical advancements almost every day.  It must have been an exciting time.  This music reflects none of that, however.  None of that Space Age Pop sneaks in here either, it's just what you'd probably call Easy Listening or Lite Music or Beautiful Music.  Take it for what it's worth.  I'm gonna shoot for one a week, but we'll see.  Volume One today is Hill Bowen-I Could Have Danced All Night (RCA Custom RAL 1001, Mono, 1957).

1. I Could Have Danced All Night
2. If I Loved You
3. On The Street Where You Live
4. The Best Things In Life Are Free
5. All The Things You Are
6. Button Up Your Overcoat
7. I Love Paris
8. Getting To Know You
9. I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face
10. I've Told Ev'ry Little Star
11. I've Got You Under My Skin
12. Buckle Down, Winsocki

Once you give it a listen, you'll notice little piano solos at the end of most of the songs (they're not tacked onto the last song at the end of each side).  The liner notes refer to those as interludes, leading gracefully from one mood to another.  I thought about putting those into their own tracks, but I didn't.  They're interesting tidbits.

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