Recent listening, current

Sunday, April 7, 2013

74. Louis Armstrong / The Hot Fives, Vol. 1 (1990)

Another set of essentials where the remastered audio leaves much to be desired. It's quite muddy and as I own several of these sides on 78 rpm disc, I can attest that there is a big (well, huge) difference and I prefer those originals. But considering this disc sells on Amazon for less than a dollar, it's worth a punt until you buy an upgrade. Supposedly this box set remastered by John R.T. Davies did not apply the same noise reduction, or rather kept the hiss, preserving more character in the high end. But I haven't listened to that collection. Reviews all point to it being a considerable improvement. If you are a more casual listener, or feel like many do that an old recording sounds like an old recording, and don't mind cloudy audio, then here you'll find plenty to enjoy. Take archetypal Louies like "Cornet Chop Suey," "Gutbucket Blues" or "Muskrat Ramble," plus that famous scat vocal on "Heebie Jeebies." Thankfully, as with other Columbia remasters, the detailed liners make up for the sub-par audio. 

No comments:

Post a Comment