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April 18, 2018:

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, listening to an upcoming soundtrack release.  We have several coming in the next few weeks.  This one has contents that have already been on CD save for the addition of cues from a TV show that the composer did – those are all new and great.  But the other two scores were on one CD a long time ago – one is a fairly short score from a great movie, and the other I don’t want to say too much about as it would give it away, but I will just say that our album has twenty more minutes of this score – double the length of the previous CD and boy is it great.  I think people will be happy about this CD, at least that’s the hope.

Yesterday was kind of a day.  I’m not even sure I remember much of it, but let’s try, shall we? I got almost eight hours of sleep, answered e-mails and had telephonic calls.  Then I did some work at the piano, made tuna sandwiches for lunch, and ate them all up.  Then I went to the mail place and picked up some packages, then came right back home.

Once home, I did more work at the piano and then on the computer and got the good news that we’re finally fully cast for the May show and what a cast it is, including two guest stars – Karen Morrow (who’ll just be talking about our issue of The Grass Harp) and Don Most, who I of course worked with many years ago on Happy Days.  We’ve been trying to work out a date for him and May just worked out fine.  So, I’ll be able to get that up as an event page by Thursday.  As soon as I know what Don is singing (two songs) I’ll be able to make the show order and write the commentary.

All the while I was listening to several of our upcoming releases, doing track lists, but I didn’t get around to starting any liner notes – I now have two more sets to write in the next day or two.  Then I listened to this absolutely incredible new remastering of my favorite performance of Holst’s The Planets, conducted by William Steinberg.  I was happy with the previous CD release, which improved the one that had been released prior to that.  But this new thing is in a whole other universe.  Back in the 1970s I had no idea that the label Deutsche Grammophon was recording mostly everything in four-channel Quad sound – but the results of Quad on LP weren’t really satisfying due to how records were cut and that’s why that format never caught on.  And all the two-track stereo mix-downs of those albums, were, of course, a generation or two away from the four-channel tapes.  Now, for the first time, the two-track stereo mix-downs are first generation thanks to digital.  And the difference is remarkable – warmer, more spacious, astounding clarity and oomph, less brittle and less bright than the previous CD release – incredible, really.  But that’s not all you get in this release.  Also included is a Blu-ray Audio disc that has the original 4.0 sound as well as the two-track mix-down.  I still don’t have my rear channels hooked up, but the two-track of the Blu-ray audio is even more astonishing than the CD.  I hope they do some of their other classic recordings in this fashion, especially any Mahler.

Then I watched an episode of The Outer Limits – The Architects of Fear – interesting premise, certainly, and beautifully directed by Byron Haskin, with extraordinary photography by Conrad Hall and excellent performances.  But again, these early episodes get really preachy and it becomes tiresome after a while. Next up: The Man With the Power.

After that, I met occasional dear reader Leslie and daughter Alexa – they took me out for dessert at the Hamburger Hamlet – we had a nice chat, and I had my usual Egg Custard Lulu and Alexa had a hot fudge sundae (but with coffee ice cream), while mom had a grilled cheese sandwich. Then I came home, and began a long evening of figuring out what goes where on this three score CD, sending the little edit map for two cues, and doing the track lists.  It literally took all evening.  But what made everything pleasant yesterday was the wonderful e-mail I got from Kay Cole, who’d just finished GEE – she sweetly told me she thought it was the best thing I’ve ever written and that she cried and loved the story and the writing.  That made me very happy.

Today, it’s more of all that, plus prepping a release announcement of either one or two CDs.  I’ll work at the piano, on the computer, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages, I’ll eat, and I don’t think there’s any meetings, although I can no longer remember what is when.  At some point I’ll relax and watch stuff.

Tomorrow we have a one o’clock run-through of Kay’s show – if any of LA denizens would like to come watch, just let me know. I’m sure I’ll have notes after, and then I’ll continue working on all the stuff I’m working on.  Friday is a lunch meeting at noon and I think I have to see something although I’m not sure what.  The weekend is actually busy and then Kay’s show is on Sunday.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, prep a release announcement, work at the piano and on the computer, eat, hopefully pick up some packages, write liner notes, and relax.  Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Ask BK Day, the day in which you get to ask me or any dear reader any old question you like and we get to give any old answer we like. So, let’s have loads of lovely questions and loads of lovely answers and loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, while I make up for lost time in CD releases.

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