A bunch of entries ago I did a spotlight feature on budget album releases worth checking out. The above LP was among those I pictured then and I'm listening to it again right now, actually. Since m'lady was gifted with a new camera for the holidays I've taken the liberty to borrow it now and then to improve upon the visuals I use here. I have to say, the new Canon camera wipes the floor with the old Nikon "coolpix" I'd been using up til now. Getting nice photos is practically effortless compared to before - niiiice!
Anyway, the above mono LP comes from the Entre budget line Columbia had going and it's a good sounding platter with a pleasant performance of Schubert's 2nd. Here's the label:
It almost looks like a white-label promo or something, but this I reckon is the stock label design. Smooth and punchy mono. Somewhat obscure conductor Howard Barlow does a fine job of leading the Columbia Broadcasting Symphony through this enjoyable performance. The record has a little surface schmutz but the grooves are clean and no real scratches to speak of. Not bad for the $1 I paid for it. Funny to notice the price sticker on the back sleeve:
The little white tag to the left shows this listing at $1.98 new. Let's just figure that the vintage of this record is probably from about 1955 or thereabouts. If we use the CPI Inflation Calculator it's amazing to see what the equivalent in today's money would be for this:
Well now! Interesting to also consider what I paid for a used 4CD box set of all the Schubert Symphonies a few weeks ago - $1.99.
Nice collection - great performances. What would this $1.99 investment have cost me in 1955 money? About 25 cents! The conclusion? Classical fans have never had it so good! Even in this crazy modern "free download" mentality culture we live in. Building a library of quality classical music has never been so cost effective. And these days, 4CD box sets are nothing. I recently took delivery of these two fine box sets:
The Klemperer box is mostly live recordings yet still pretty enjoyable. Plus it contains an entire Beethoven Symphony cycle along with key Bruckner pieces. The Jochum box likewise has a complete Beethoven cycle as well as complete Brahms and Bruckner symphonies as well. Dang that's a lot of listening! I'm pretty sure the Klemperer set came from Presto Classical online. Even though it was shipped from England, I still got a great deal - about $20 shipped. Speaking of Presto, they're running a Klemperer special for the next few weeks. I'd love to bag a few of these before they go off sale - see here:
GOOD KLMEPERER DEAL FROM PRESTO CLASSICAL
It sure has been an exhausting past ten months for me in my professional career. Stress levels have been at all-time highs. Calming music has become a valuable component for survival lately. One of the most-played slabs-o-wax that never fails to ease me into a better and more relaxed frame of mind before heading off to snoozeville this year has been side two of this album:
Side two features the Debussy piece "Danses" and the Erik Satie classic "Gymnopedies". The Orchestre de la Radio Suisse Italienne led by Roland Douatte may not be the most well-known, tier one orchestra. Yet they sure deliver the goods on this record. I was initially attracted by the unusual (for me) Debussy works featured on this album. But what a performance! Side one is kinda upbeat and bright which is okay for what it is. The real value of this record is ALL ABOUT SIDE TWO, though.
Of course this was a thrift store rescue album. Couldn't find a copy off ebay recently either. The disc was certainly pressed in France and may not have ever seen a domestic (US) release. See here:
Cool label art. I have reason to believe this is a mid-60s pressing mainly because of what popped out of the sleeve - three copies of this postcard:
Here's the address on the back of the postcard:
1967, eh? Fairly modern looking building. Wonder if it's still there. And what the connection between the postcards and the LP is. Not that I care that much. What's really important is this: if you need some extra-mellow musical chillout vibes to calm your shattered nerves, THIS RECORD IS FOR YOU!
Happy hunting / listening / etc............
