Question for Steve about Glenn Miller

[stereo71]

Steve,

On the Glenn Miller "You Leave Me Breathless", were
the master recordings you had to work with done
on radio transcription discs? If I understand
this correctly, these sessions were live takes
for broadcast, before Miller and his band were
all that popular. Was this a particularly
difficult job, considering the source material?

I have a copy ordered for my dad, who played in
dance bands back then--he says they got lots of
requests for Miller arrangements they heard on
the radio. Can't wait to hear it!

[Steve Hoffman]

It was brutal work. Taken from 16" discs. Actually, the clean sound of the discs was fine with me, but RCA/BMG wanted every tic and pop removed plus any static, etc. So, they "finished" my mastering for me. Still a great album of unknown Miller.

Hope you like it!

[Tullman]

Where does one buy this and what is the title??

[Steve Hoffman]

Tullman,

Go to my discography page here:

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/discography/misc.shtml

...and scroll down. Every title with the "BMG/Buddah" label is one of these vintage Glenn Miller/Benny Goodman/Duke Ellington/Fats Waller/Tommy Dorsey titles I did.

They are sold in all the usual places!

[Claviusb]

Originally posted by Steve Hoffman
It was brutal work. Taken from 16" discs. Actually, the clean sound of the discs was fine with me, but RCA/BMG wanted every tic and pop removed plus any static, etc. So, they "finished" my mastering for me. Still a great album of unknown Miller.

Hope you like it!

You say they "finished" the mastering, did you feel what they did effected the overall work sonically, Steve?

[Dave]

Ahhhh that explains why my Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra sound too bright and not like anything else that you've done Steve.

They just simply trashed your recordings on these two.:(

[Steve Hoffman]

Sigh....:(

[stereo71]

Still, I am glad this material is available, even if
the final product is not what you would have issued
yourself. There is a market out there for authentic
recordings, and the more attention we can all bring
to the issue, the better! I'm going to get the
Ellington as well.

Thanks, Steve!

[Angel]

Yes, I have a bunch in the series. Steve's touch is on the discs, don't worry about that.

Some of the Tommy Dorsey cuts sound amazing.

[stereo71]

Say Angel,

When did magnetic tape really come into use, for
audio? I've heard or read somewhere, at least with
respect to some of Miller's recordings, that the
later sessions in New York (early WWII) were done
on tape. You can notice the increased fidelity and
range in some of it, which I always took to be the
tape-sourced ones.

[Angel]

As I learned from Steve Hoffman:

Magnetic tape for radio: 1947 by Bing Crosby.

Magnetic tape for audio? First was Capitol Records in early 1948.

No Glenn Miller music could have been recorded on tape. The allies didn't even capture a German tape recorder until the end of the war in 1945.

But, those RCA Radio Orthoacoustic 16" discs sound amazing. Live hotel remotes were broadcast live and also transcribed on the discs via a "high fidelity" telephone line.

Ah, the good old days.

[stereo71]

I dug this out of the notes from "Glenn Miller-
the best of the Lost Recordings and Secret
Broadcasts" :

"The band also made records for the troops (the
famous V-Discs) and the Armed Forces Radio Service...
the US Office of War Information's overseas branch
asked Miller to record some programmes for
distribution to foreign radio stations through
American embassies...each 15-minute programme
occupied one side of a 16-inch 33 1/3 rpm vinylite
disc. Altogether the band recorded 22 programmes
from March to June 1944."

It also mentions that their final sessions with
Miller leading the band were recorded at Abbey Road,
on Nov 27, 1944. Two weeks later Miller's plane
disappeared into the English Channel.

Some of the tracks on this disc sound incredible!
Maybe even in spite of the CEDAR processing...

[Mitch Kaufman]

Steve: would I be correct in assuming that the second volume of Goodman will not be forthcoming? Talk about being left hanging!

Ever since I first owned those Goodman NBC Thesaurus recordings on three Sunbeam LPs (remember those? Not exactly audiophile material), I've had a particular soft spot in my heart for them. Unlike the later, more polished Goodman sides, these have a rough-hewn feel, but at their best they swing with a vengeance. Goodman's solo in "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (of all things) is one of his best on records, I think (and I've heard a fair number of them). Fifty-one songs in one session (one take apiece) has got to be some kind of record.

Please tell me we'll eventually see the rest of these...

MK

[Steve Hoffman]

Mitch,

I have no idea what those dudes at Buddah are up to these days. Maybe they lost interest in Benny Goodman. I hope not...