Monday, December 31, 2018

Mono V Stereo

This is a rare case where I'm going to share out both my mono and stereo versions of an album, and tell you that you probably want to get the mono version.  Not because it sounds better, but because it comes with that great cover of a triangular Santa playing a horn!  How can you not love that? Doesn't really matter what the music sounds like when it's inside such a great cover.  This is one of those things that I had looked for for a long time, and was pretty excited when I finally brought home a copy.  First shared here in 2010, this is This is The Deutschmeister Band, Conducted By Julius Herrmann-Christmas Carols (Westminster WP 6024, Mono, 1953).

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Good Christian Men Rejoice (In Dulci Jubilo)
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. O Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)
7. From O'er The Hills Of Fair Judea
8. The First Noel
9. Joy To The World
10. Away In A Manger
11. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
12. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
13. O Tannenbaum
14. Silent Night, Holy Night
15. Deck The Halls
16. Wassail, Wassail

MEGA

And if you want to listen with both ears, here is a copy of the Stereo record, first shared out in 2008. Why oh why did they change the cover to this generic image of a horn bedecked wreath when they had that great Santa? Is this really a wrath?  It's not a circle, it's more of just a pile...  I don't remember comparing the two recordings directly, so I can't say if they're the same or not, but the order is all shuffled around and some of the titles are slightly different, but that could have been at the whim of a typist laying out the cover art.  Give it a listen and see what you think.  This is The Deutschmeister Band, Conducted By Julius Herrmann-Christmas Carols (Westminster WST 15048, Stereo). Not sure when they put out the stereo version, but if I had to guess I'd say '58 or '59.

1. In Dulci Jubilo
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Good King Wenceslas
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
6. O Come All Ye Faithful
7. From O'er The Hills Of Fair Judea
8. Silent Night
9. Deck The Halls
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
11. Wassail, Wassail
12. O Tannenbaum
13. Joy To The World
14. Away In A Manger
15. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
16. The First Noel

MEGA

4 comments:

  1. don't let anyone ever suggest that your tastes are square.

    they are triangular.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for both mono and stereo.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't think they are the same. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is 2:00 long on the mono and 1:38 on the stereo.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Could be, could also be that they edited the stereo versions down to fit on the vinyl. There are some other Stereo Westminster Christmas albums from this period where the Stereo LP is missing a track or two. If you could lay your hands on the reel to reel version of the stereo album, you might find full versions. Hard to say, just a guess. But thanks for stopping by here in the off season. :)

    ReplyDelete

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