While I'm thrilled to have this LP in any form, I can be forgiven for wishing I had the mono edition. (I've yet to come across same.) RCA's "electronically reprocessed" stereo, after all, is an affront to sound, and an especially tragic device to impose on 1) recordings of this caliber and 2) transfers of this quality. But it obviously worked beautifully as a sales gimmick, given the number of fake stereo LPs that remain in second-hand circulation, not only on RCA, but Columbia and MCA, as well. The appeal of false stereo escapes me, since, at best, rechanneled/reprocessed/enhanced/etc. "stereo" is simply two differently equalized channels of the same thing. And, at worst (as on this LP), two differently equalized channels with a ridiculous amount of reverb added. There's a certain illusion of depth, but at the expense of sound quality.
No, wait--come back! I promise that these tracks are worth the download, despite the phony stereo, in part because I've corrected the injustice to some extent, creating a decently balanced mono with some of the echo removed. And I suspect that, once your ears have gotten into these splendid performances, you'll forget all about the echo and exaggerated midrange that masquerades as treble. If I can do it, you can, too.
For this is nothing less than Southern Gospel, Twenties-style, and not at all unlike the Statesmen, Blackwoods, Speers, et al. We've got the big bass (Frank H. Stamps), high tenor (Palmer Wheeler), and the requisite virtuoso, ragtime-y piano passages (Dwight M. Brock). Brock was one of those musicians who stole the show the moment he started to play. Keyboard charisma of the extreme variety.
Rounding out this superb group: Second tenor Roy Wheeler and baritone Odis L. Echoles. Again, RCA's transfers are terrific, marred only by that danged "reprocessed" stereo. I managed to date all but three tracks; the rest are from 1927-1929. If He Bore It All sounds familiar, it's because we've previously heard Smith's Sacred Singers do it (and a year earlier than the Stampses). Zoom, don't walk, to Mediafire:
The Stamps Quartet--Give the World a Smile
Give the World a Smile (1927)
Singing in My Soul (1929)
We Shall Reach Home
Do Your Best, Then Wear a Smile
Walk and Talk with Jesus (1928)
Living for Jesus
Let Me Live Close to Thee (1928)
He Bore It All (1928)
Love Leads the Way (1927)
He's a Wonderful Savior to Me
(Hm. I tried to set this to publish at 12:01 Sunday morning, but it's 9:44 pm on Saturday, and here it is. Probably my bad. The new Blogger design is mostly very cool and convenient.)
Lee
4 comments:
Thanks, Lee - been looking for things by the Stamps. And thank you for removing the fake stereo.
If it's any consolation, I would guess they added reverb to the mono version as well - it was pretty much standard practice back then.
I was thinking the same thing, though hopefully it wouldn't be quite as much reverb. No way to tell, of course, without someday finding the CAL- version! Hope you enjoy.
Thanks so much for this one. I really enjoyed hearing this quartet...I've never heard V.O. sing before, although I've heard about him for years. Definitely an old time style. Very enjoyable.
Glad you enjoyed! What's interesting (and cool) is how many quartets were still singing in one vintage style or another as late as the 1970s (or, as some tell me, even more recently). A while back, I posted a Portland, Oregon quartet, c. 1970, that sounded quite a lot like this edition of the Stamps.
Post a Comment