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Here's a little treat that I've been waiting to share with you since last year. Some of you old-timers may remember the record above. I never shared out the music last year, but I did share the scan over at Flickr. I had never listened to it too closely, I guess, or I would have shared it before now. The music is lush orchestra, well conducted and well arranged. The best stuff is the side of secular songs, which I find more interesting that the side of sacred hymns, but you may be of the other mind. At some point during the year, I stumbled across the album below, which looks the same, except for the missing Living Stereo banner. Yes, it is in mono, which is usually a bad thing. But something kept bothering me about it. I didn't post the scans of the flip side here (they're in the downloads, though), but if they were here, you'd see what it took me maybe a week to realize. The stereo copy credits Domenico Savino, His Orchestra and Chorus, while the mono version credits Domenico Savino And His Orchestra. Subtle difference, but important. After much listening and comparing, I realized that these are two different records! The mono one was recorded independently of the stereo version. The arrangements are the same, but the versions are slightly different. And what do you know, I like the mono better! But you have to judge for yourself. I'm giving you both copies, and you can let me know what you think. For starters, here's Domenico Savino And His Orchestra-Hi-Fi Christmas Party (RCA Camden CAL-392, 1958, Mono). And here's Domenico Savino, His Orchestra And Chorus-Hi-Fi Christmas Party (RCA Camden CAS-392, 1958, Stereo). Grab 'em both and let me know which one you like better!
Earlier this evening, I shared an EP by Mr. Savino with you. The tracks on that release are mono, and match the times from the mono record above. But the record above has no mention or credit of The Rome Festival Orchestra. So I don't know what the deal is. The flip side to the stereo long-player mentions that Domenico had to come back from a vacation in Italy for the recording session, so couldn't he have stayed in Italy if he was going to record with The Rome Festival Orchestra? Hmmm, well, you know what? It doesn't say he recorded these tracks in America, just that he interrupted his vacation to record them. I made an assumption, and you know what that means...
Some of you with nice record collections and a knowledge of Christmas music may be wondering why I didn't share out this John Klein Christmas LP, A Christmas Sound Spectacular (RCA Victor LSP 2023, 1959). Well, simple. It's on CD. You can go buy it here (only $8!). I did want to show you the cover, though, since it's awesome, and point out the little RCA tags below. This in the only instance I've found where the tag is different on the mono version versus the stereo version. I'm sure you can figure out which is which. Also, I acquired a copy of this LP sometime recently, and I thought it seemed a little stiff when I picked it up. I looked in the sleeve, and there was an insert in there. It's a big long piece giving a history of bells and carillons. The first page of that insert is shown way down at the bottom of this post. And if you want to read the whole thing, you can download it here. Now, stay tuned for more John Klein!
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