Here's a 78-rpm repeat from last year--in a new rip. I figured I could do a better restoration job this time, despite the outrageously noisy pressings. Condition isn't an issue here--these ten-inch discs (all three of them) still look like a needle has never traveled their grooves. "New old stock" is the term used for such items, I think. Either this was a noisy pressing to start with, or Columbia shellac from this period doesn't age well. It may absorb moisture over the decades, which would result in surface issues of this type. But I was able to kill most of the noise, anyway. The hiss you'll hear is nothing like the pre-treated hiss.
"Pre-treated hiss"? Did I type that?
This 1940 audio children's adventure comes to us courtesy of John Thirza (words) and Mario Altieri (music). The story: Using his "imagination specs," a boy travels to the North Pole, where he meets Jack Frost, Eskimos, penguins, singing toys, the Snow Queen, the north wind, and Santa Claus. I don't think the boy's name is mentioned anytime during the six 78 rpm sides, but I guess it's not important, because this is about the power of childhood imagination, so the child in the story could be any child. Except we know the child is a he, because he has a male voice. Sorry, girls. Anyway, it's a standard kiddie-record theme: child falls asleep, meets Santa Claus. But it's done in a delightfully old fashioned style, with the composer channeling Victor Herbert.
One of my favorite things about this set, besides the way the hiss fades into the background during the louder portions, is the mother telling the boy that, no, Santa is not a man--Santa is a feeling, "just like God." Yet, when Santa speaks, we hear a deep male voice. What's up with that? And, anyway, I always thought there was a Mrs. Claus. Santa's got to be a guy. My Christmas is going to be ruined unless I resolve this issue....
Anyway, I joined all six sides of this three-record set into a single file, because there are no actual pauses in the program, save the ones caused by having to flip over each side. The disc order is not arranged for a changer, which is cool, because that's always a pain. I had an easy time ripping these in sequence, because the flip of J 22-1 is J 22-2, and so on. In changer order, the flip side of J 22-1 would be J 22-6. Changer order is a nuisance--unless you're using a turntable with a changer, of course. But who wants to subject his or her 78s to a changer, with the records dropping down and possibly cracking? Changers are bad enough for vinyl, but they're deadly for 78s. And I think we can add "changer order" to "pre-treated hiss" for the Terms We Learned in Today's Post.
To the adventures of the... er... the kid in this story.
DOWNLOAD: A Christmas Fantasie (Thirza-Altieri) (1940)
The Columbia Children's Music-Story Group (Columbia Records Set J-22; 1940)
Lee
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