What a deal--four labels to choose from! I settled on Rondo-lette, though you might prefer Ultraphonic or Golden Tone, whose logos also show up on this. The Royale label is present by implication, since the tracks are credited to the Royale Concert Orch.
Three of these four el-cheapo labels were owned by Eli Oberstein, while Golden Tone belonged to Tops. Therefore, this LP might have been put out by Pickwick, which in 1963 had bought Tops, which itself had earlier bought the whole Oberstein stable of labels. Or it could be a Tops release. Or it could be a very clever fake designed by a forger with way too much time on his hands and no nose for profit.
So, how's the music on this Golden Tone/Ultraphonic/Royale/Rondo-lette/possibly Pickwick/Tops release, you ask? Quite good, surprisingly. While the hymn selections on side A are kind of so-so, the pop stuff on side B is lively, colorful, and skillfully arranged, even if two of the numbers show up twice. They're in different arrangements, mind you, but they're the same numbers (I refer to March of the Toys and Jingle Bells). Being clever, Golden Tone/Tops/Royale, etc. titled the second instance of March of the Toys as March of Toys, leaving out the "the." Meanwhile, they simply omitted any mention of the second Jingle Bells (having no "the" to leave off).
Yup--the ol' six-tracks-listed-but-seven-tracks-on-the-side trick. Very clever, Ultraphonic/Royale/Tops/Golden Tone/possibly Pickwick.
Since Side B is so much better (I think, anyway) than Side A, I flipped the order. That, plus I wasn't paying complete attention when I ripped these. I was too busy trying to figure out what label I was dealing with. I'm open to suggestions.
I forgot to mention that the jacket and label titles don't even match. Jacket says, Christmas Music for the Winter Season, whereas the label promises An Hour of Christmas Orchestral Music--an hour which clocks in at 36 minutes and 17 seconds. And you thought you were disorganized.
To the music: Christmas Music at Winter Time (Or, An Hour of C. Orchestral Music)
TRACKLIST
Jingle Bells
White Christmas
March of the Toys
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Toyland
March of Toys
Jingle Bells (2)
Silent Night, Holy Night
The First Noel
Adeste Fidelis
O Little Town of Bethlehem
We Three Kings of Orient Are
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Angels We Have Heard on High
The Royale Concert Orch. (Rondo-lette 51500)
Lee
2 comments:
I'm sitting here laughing while reading this. Funniest Christmas music share all season! The music is entirely beside the point.
Thank you. It's kind of in-joke humor, really....
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