iTunes Reissues are Terrible! or ..."Curse you, Hallmark!"

I was recently given an iTunes gift card in appreciation for a wedding project. I was a kid in a candy store. "Oh, the things I could buy!" I of course was thinking immediately of adding to my arsenal of great orchestral music. Searching all the greats, Weston, Luboff, Faith, I immediately noticed that in taking over these recordings, The Hallmark Corporation had not only put them all on iTunes, but at an amazing price. Most of them were $5.99, an incredible bargain for a full length album these days. I selected one, "Paul Weston's "Dream Time Music" (from the original Columbia Catalog, of course) and after it downloaded, transferred it to disc, and put it on while I did some housework. I was thoroughly disgusted. The recordings were obviously poorly transferred, and not even from an original source. It was almost as if it was poorly done through a cassette tape rendering of the albums. The sound was extremely muddy, and a pervasive Tape hiss completely compromised the recording. Looking to my stash of Paul Weston LPs, I put one on, hopefully to get some level of comparison, and the difference was unreal. Straight vinyl, and compromised vinyl at that, was way better from a sonic standpoint than what Apple was trying to pass off to me as a pro-grade recording. We can do better here at East Malaysia, and I guarantee that Hallmark could have too, had they tried. So friends, the music business isn't dead as Jon Bon Jovi Says it is. Vinyl is still out there, and growing in availability. Get yourself a turntable, and plug back in!

Another New Episode of The Podcast Now Available!

Hello, Friends. It's another Saturday Morning, and The Analog has a new offering for you today. I just want to say that we are heartbroken over the events taking place across the globe, especially in Japan. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy.

Click Here To Listen

I hope you enjoy today's show. As we get into summer, I'll be bringing out some recommendations for great spring and summer listening. Enjoy the weather!

Playlist For 3-11-11

Ray Conniff: “The Way You Look Tonight”

Andre Kostelanetz: “A Man And A Woman”

Johnny Mathis: “I Love Her, That’s Why”

Frank Sinatra: “Swing On A Star”

Kenny Rogers: “Through The Years”

Paul Weston: “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”

Eydie Gorme: “I Wanna Be Around”

Ray Conniff: “I Hear A Rhapsody”

Johnny Mathis: “Small World”

Norman Luboff Choir: “Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me”

Great Gildersleeve: “Chairman Of Women’s Committee”

(Season 4)

New Podcast Available, And An Album Review!

A new podcast is now available at This link or on iTunes, if you're a subscriber.

Play List For The Analog

Episode 7- "Merlin Olsen Is Holding Something Beautiful"

March 5, 2011

The Percy Faith Strings: "Bouquet"

Ray Conniff & His Orchestra: "Speak Low"

The Briarcliff Strings: “Little Green Apples”

The Chordettes: “Mr. Sandman”

Tennessee Ernie Ford: “Sixteen Tons”

Dionne Warwick: “Do You Know The Way To San Jose”

Herb Alpert: “A Taste Of Honey”

Carpenters: “A Song For You”

Nat “King” Cole: “Pretend”

Ray Conniff Singers: “Speak Low”

Paul Weston: “It Never Entered My Mind”

Andre Kostelanetz: “Try To Remember”

Percy Faith: “Stella By Starlight”

Frank Sinatra: “I Dream Of You (More Than You Dream I Do)”

Mantovani: “Around The World”

Norman Luboff Choir: “The Girl That I Marry”

Ray Conniff: It’s So Nice To Have A Man Around The House”

This show was a real pleasure to produce, thanks to the amazing work of The Percy Faith Strings. His album Bouquet has been playing non stop lately, both on my turntable, and my iPod. The title track is haunting, and indescribably beautiful. Other stand outs include Faith's treatment of "Tenderly" and "Speak Low", as well as a vocal-less rendition of "The Song From Moulin Rouge". One recommendation, I would make, is that if you do happen to seek out this LP, in your local record store, or flea market, be sure to get the stereo version. My copy is Monaural, and although the quality IS amazing, I imagine it is way better in Stereo, with the cascading arrangements darting back and forth between your stereo speakers. If you like string arrangements, this album will be a mainstay in your collection. Faith's charts on this album make Mantovani look like an amateur. Thanks for listening, everyone!

The Analog Episode 5 Guide

Episode 5: "Don't Sleep In The Subway; McDonald's Has Better Heating!"

Today’s Playlist for The Podcast

Norm Wooster Singers: “Lovin’ You Lots and Lots”

Ray Conniff Singers: “Don’t Sleep In The Subway”

Marek Weber /orch.“Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes”

Claude Thornhill: “Yours Is My Heart Alone”

Paul Weston “It’s The Talk Of The Town”

James Taylor: “Only A Paper Moon”

Johnny Mathis: “It’s Not For Me To Say”

Nat “King” Cole: “A Portrait Of Jennie”

Ray Conniff: “Music To Watch Girls By”

Ray Conniff: “It Must Be Him”

Doris Day: “Whatever Will Be Will Be (Que Sera Sera)”

Percy Faith: “On Broadway”

Eydie Gorme: “What Did I Have That I Don’t Have”

Pete Fountain: “Stranger On The Shore”

Frank Sinatra: “The Things We Did Last Summer”

The Norman Luboff Choir: “You Go To My Head”

I gotta say, we’re having a blast with the podcast, one week in, and we’re already getting lots of comments, and new listeners! That’s very exciting for me to be able to share my love of easy listening classics with other enthusiasts! So look for a new episode on Monday, and we’ll be back with ya then!

On Todays Episode...

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the Earthquake yesterday in Christchurch, New Zealand. This show is dedicated to our Kiwi friends, and we pray for a quick recovery, and healing during this tragic time.

On the show today,a new feature borrowed from NBC's "Monitor": Ring Around The World. This first one, from The Analog's own back yard, St. Louis, Missouri. Also, some great music from Michael Legrand, Jo Stafford, Percy Faith, and Johnny Mercer. We'll be doing shows every day until Friday, before settling into a weekly format next week.

Link To Today's Podcast

Play List for today:

The Four Coins: “Magnolia”

Jo Stafford: ”You Belong To Me”

Johnny Mercer: “Ugly Chile”

Rosemary Clooney: “Botch-A-Me”

Frank Sinatra: “It’s A Long Way (From Your House To Mine)”

Frankie Laine and Jo Stafford: “Hey Good Lookin’”

Frank Sinatra: “The Lamplighter’s Serenade”

Ray Conniff: “Patricia, It’s Patricia”

Paul Weston: “Stardust”

Percy Faith: “Carousel Waltz”

Ray Conniff: “Cabaret”

Xavier Cugat: “Pan, Amor y Cha Cha Cha

Michael Legrand: “Under Paris Skies”

The Ed Sullivan Singers: “Alfie”

John Gary: "More"

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East Malaysia Now Has A Podcast!

The Analog is now a podcast! Be sure to bookmark it, and/or subscribe via iTunes! The show features…well the same thing that this blog does! Great chat about audio conversion, but more importantly, The featuring of great, long out of print music. So be sure to tune in (yeah I KNOW it’s not radio..lol) every Monday for a new episode of “The Analog”, a new podcast brought to you by East Malaysia Productions!

The Analog Podcast Linked Here

Music Featured in This Episode:

Art Van Damme- “Deep Night”

Sammy Kaye “I’ll String Along With You”

Percy Faith-“You’re My Everything”

Paul Weston-Moonlight Becomes You

Ray Conniff Singers “It’s The Talk Of The Town”

Frank Sinatra-“Why Try To Change Me Now”

Nat “King” Cole- Nature Boy

Andre Kostelanetz-“The Shadow Of Your Smile”

The Norman Luboff Choir-“It’s Easy To Remember”

Ray Conniff Orchestra & Chorus- “Love Me Tonight” & “The Muskrat Ramble”

Andre Kostelanetz-“Tara’s Theme”

Eydie Gorme- “Don’t Go To Strangers”

Slippers, A Fireplace and Good Music!

If anyone reading this knows me, they know that I have unusual tastes for a thirty five year old. I like some of what comes out today, but for the most part, I'm stuck in the past....before Vietnam, before they killed the Kennedys, and before our society experienced a painful downturn. Percy Faith once said that he was the chief advocate of the perfect evening at home, "...a pair of slippers, a fireplace, and great music on the phonograph." I know what he means. Columbia Records in the 1950's and early '60's really had a formula. America's best band-leaders, composers, choir directors and arrangers were all on the label. It was the place to be. The red and black label with the 6 CBS eyes on it almost invariably assured that whatever was in those grooves, it was good. Columbia's diverse roster assured that there really was something for everyone. If you liked brassy, bigger band arrangements, there was Benny Goodman and Harry James. If you liked it more serene and mellow there was Percy Faith, Paul Weston, and the Norman Luboff Choir. And If you wanted rhythmic dance music, you couldn't do any better than Ray Conniff, who released his first five albums on that iconic six-eye label. Oh, and did I mention that Sinatra's solo career started on Columbia? Classical Music Lovers weren't left out, either. From the beginning, there was always that great Russian maestro, Andre Kostelanetz. Well, if what I've said here intrigues you, the news is very good. This vast catalogue of treasure is for the most part still in tact. Now there are 2 ways to go about it. If you no longer believe that LPs are viable (and shame on you for that), Most of Columbia's Easy Listening Catalog was transferred over to The Hallmark Corporation, where they released most of it on iTunes, and Amazon.com. But see, to me, that's not as fun. You can also pour over the thousands of flea markets, antique shops, thrift stores and other places where people are liquidating their past, and you can find a huge chunk of what you're looking for, and in most cases not only are these LPs playable, they're in remarkable shape and sound fantastic when played back on modern turntables. I recently came across a three record set while I was in a flea market in Billings, Missouri. Originally released in 1956, "The Columbia Basic Library Of Listening And Dancing Favorites" was the original springboard for me into the world of Columbia's Easy Listening Department. Released on Columbia's "Masterworks" sub-label, it's a who was who of the time in popular music. The albums were 50+ years old, and they sounded amazing...and they recorded onto digital even better, assuring that not only can I have the slippers, fireplace, and great records at home, I can also take them with me wherever I go on my iPod. So, do yourself a great favor, and come with me back to a time in America when life was liveable, cars were huge, kids still played outside, and some of our country's greatest music makers reigned supreme via the recording arm of the Columbia Broadcasting System. Happy Hunting!