What's up next in this parade of Christmas music you've never heard before? Here's an album that someone sent me as a gift, and what a gift it was! There aren't a lot of Christmas records out there by a big name that I don't have, but somehow this one has eluded me all these years. This is
Ralph Flanagan-
Holiday Inn (Mono) (Imperial LP 9091, Mono, 1959). For many years I didn't even know this record existed, but once I did learn of it, I struggled to get my hands on a copy. A reader of the blog came through for me earlier this year and sent me this record (plus a couple others) with the hope that I'd someday be able to post it. And just like magic, here it is! As excited as I am to be able to share a copy of this tough-to-find record, I will tell you not to download it. This is a mono copy, and my buddy Buster over at his
blog shared out a stereo copy a few years ago. That's probably the copy you want for long-term listening. At least until I can come up with my own stereo copy. Does that cover remind anyone else of
Dean Martin's A Winter Romance LP, also from 1959? Clearly not the same, but similar.
1. I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm
2. White Christmas
3. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. Winter Wonderland
6. Merry Merry Gentleman
7. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
8. June In January
9. Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer
10. Sleigh Ride
11. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
12. Skater's Swing
MEGA
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Thanks for the plug, pal. I was happy to find the record, since I like Ralph Flanagan's stuff.
ReplyDeleteYou've got the better record, that's all there is to it. :)
DeleteI need to proofread my stuff a few extra times. I just went in and cleaned up a bunch of gobbledygook I typed that made no sense. This must have been the last post I wrote up or something. Ack.
Looking forward to checking this one out! Buster posted this one a few years ago in Stereo. This is one I am still looking for a physical copy of; the only Flanagan records I found this year was a great box of his first volume of Rodgers and Hammerstein songs in 45 format.
DeleteThis one is tough to find. Small label and I don't think they sold many copies.
DeleteSmall label??!! This was the company that had Ricky Nelson and Fats Domino on their roster when this album came out. Maybe they got better distribution when Lew Chudd sold the label in the mid-'60's to Liberty.
DeleteOK, small is the wrong word. They're certainly not up there with the majors, RCA Victor, Columbia & Capitol. Second tier might be a better word. Not sure of the sales numbers but I don't see a lot of them in the stores.
DeleteDave from Ardmore begs to disagree with your preference for stereo. I still champion mono versions of albums also released in stereo in the 1950s and well into the 1960s. Mono forced artists and engineers to prioritize layers and segments of the listening experience that often gives records greater intimacy. Voices and instruments lost or lessened in stereo take central stage in mono and, for me at least, deepen my enjoyment of the recording. But this is a purely personal preference—just one I articulate because others might share it. However, whether mono or stereo, this is a major find. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely correct, and I didn't take that into consideration. But I think those cases are pretty few and far between. Please download this version and compare it to Buster's stereo version, let me know which one you think is best. I'll look forward to the results, I didn't do any sort of comparison.
DeleteThanks Ernie. I can't remember where I downloaded my copy from. I'll have to which one is better :)
ReplyDeleteWell, give it a listen and report back. :)
DeleteAgree with you on the Dean Martin Winter Romance comment. Will be checking this one out for sure!
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one who saw the resemblance. :)
DeleteDave of Ardmore compared the mono and stereo and, just as he feared, there was a lot of splitting of parts between the right and left channels. I hate to hear crucial instruments sequestered from each other in early stereo to give a fake sense of spaciousness.
ReplyDeleteSo that's a vote for the mono? I guess I don't listen to my music closely enough to notice such finer points. Maybe if I sat down and concentrated with headphones, but that's just not the way I consume it. It's usually in the car playing loud or it's background while I'm doing something else. I don't listen for the sake of listening as much as people might think given what I do around here. :)
DeleteDave from Ardmore listens carefully with headphones. And he hates when bongos are in the right ear and xylophones in the left. Early stereo does poorly at integration of tracks. Indeed, it was dis-integrating force. Mono has integration that old stereo lacks.
ReplyDeleteIt was a learning process. :)
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