Well, dear readers, I’m afraid that even I, BK, am susceptible to rabbit holes and down I went for the entire evening. There is an Internet Archive website and while it’s confusing as all get out, and I think we all know how confusing all get out is, if you find the right sections it has some amazing LP transfers of things that aren’t available on CD and I found some wonderful stuff I’ve been looking for years. I found a wonderful album of Frank Loesser suites from his musicals – Guys and Dolls, Greenwillow, The Most Happy Fella, Where’s Charley, and the film Hans Christian Andersen, conducted by Arthur Fiedler and isn’t it time to have a complete Arthur Fiedler box set? I think so. Also, a George Greeley album I loved as a kid of movie themes done as piano concertos – that’s what’s playing now in gorgeous Warner Bros. stereophonic sound – namely a concerto version of the theme from Fanny, which is the track I played over and over again, whilst sitting on my bed with my Columbia House Stereophonic Record Player. And a wonderful Kurt Weill album, also on Warner Bros, – various Weill songs in fun arrangements and conducted by Maurice Levine. There are a few others I haven’t listened to yet, so I’ll talk about those once I have, but boy is it a treasure trove. The most interesting thing I found was frustrating – for whatever reasons, some albums are only available as short clips from tracks – like who needs THAT? But someone put up a stereo copy of the Exodus LP original pressing. Here’s the thing about Exodus: There have been at least two and possibly three releases of the classic Ernest Gold soundtrack on CD and they all sound horrible – distorted, ugly, harsh. I had the soundtrack in stereo back in 1961 when it came out (the film opened in late December of 1960) and I certainly didn’t remember it sounding like that, but then that’s over fifty years ago, so who knows. Well, I do, now that I listened to the clips on the original stereo pressing – it sounds amazing – beautiful low end, no distortion. So, I wonder what the story is with the CDs? Perhaps they’ve lost the three-track tapes and the original two-track album master and they’re using some unknown generation back-up tape. So, I’ll now hunt down a mint copy of the LP and do my own transfer. Meanwhile, the eleven-minute Greeley concerto version of Exodus is playing and it’s fantastic. Must look up who did the orchestrations. It’s Felix Slatkin conducting, so perhaps he did them. Anyway, as I listen, I feel like I’m back in my bedroom sitting on my bed with my stereo playing away. Prior to that, I tried to watch stuff, but nothing was that interesting to me, I’m afraid, and I have to take a break from the documentary things.
Yesterday was something of a day, I just don’t know what. I got about four hours of not enough sleep, got up, answered e-mails, saw something that I’ve been expecting to see and alerted those who needed to be alerted and then moved on with my day. I tried another of the local pizza jernts around here – got the tiny ten-inch pepperoni pizza and a tiny side Caesar salad. The pizza wasn’t to my liking at all, my second really disappointing pizza this week. I think there’s only one more to try, but that won’t be for a while. I need Dino’s is what I need.
I caught up on stuff on the computer, a CD dealer dropped by and picked up some stuff, I had the Caesar salad, which was thankfully better than the pizza, and then I finally sat on my couch like so much fish and began about seven motion pictures and watched the first five minutes of each. Then I went down the damn rabbit hole and that was that, which is preferable to that being this.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll write another strong letter to everyone at the publisher if the hardcover is still a no-show at Amazon, I’ll try to have a reasonable lunch – perhaps tuna sandwiches, should there be any onion rolls left at Gelson’s, and I may or may not have a Zoom thing with David Wechter. Then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow, she of the Evil Eye comes, so I’ll be up early, then I’ll come home and have a damn ME day. Sunday will be more of the same, although I will be choosing songs for the June show. I have an ask in for a guy performer but I haven’t heard a peep so I’ll have to move on, I guess. I really wish Daniel Bellusci were around, but he’s pretty much out of the business now, which is a real shame. Then next week will be very busy with stuff.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, check on the hardcover and send an e-mail if it isn’t up, I’ll eat, maybe have a Zoom thing, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, nothing, but listening to all these LP transfers. Blu-ray, nothing. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, whenever I emerge from the rabbit hole.