Is there a difference between the EMI and K-Tell releases of the 50th
Anniversary Palladium Concert LPs? Also, what are the tracks that
would be missing if one only had the Complete UA Sessions and the
Palladium Concert CDs? All my best,
Jason Whiton
Posted by Arne Fogel on January 08, 1999 at 13:10:28:
In Reply to: Palladium Concert Questions posted by Jason Whiton on January 08, 1999 at 12:01:14:
Jason, if you have "Complete UA" CDs and the Paladium CD, the only thing you're missing from the original K-Tel-UA Paladium package is Bing & Harry singing "Play A Simple Melody", and the Crosby Family "Round" medley (several old tunes like "Loch Lomond" and "My Bonnie" done as rounds by various members of the family). On the other hand, the CDs mentioned will give you "Great Day", supposedly sung by Bing on one of the Palladium nights. In reality, the track is an alternate take from the UA studio sessions, tarted up with audience applause to make sound "live" - not sure why they did this. By the way, even if you have the "Complete UA sessions", hold on to your old LPs, they feature several alternate takes and mixes to the ones on the CDs. I personally think the mixes are better on the LPs for some tracks!
Posted by Jim Crowley on January 08, 1999 at 17:16:34:
In Reply to: Re: Palladium Concert Questions posted by Arne Fogel on January 08, 1999 at 13:10:28:
I totally agree with keeping your old albums. That was my major
disapointment with the recent 3 CD release of Bings "complete" UA
recordings. It could have been just as easy to reissue the original
mixes as well as alternate mixes. I was really disapointed in the
set, but I'm glad to have the alternate takes and mixes. The set
should not have been called the "complete" UA recordings, which is
misleading.
Posted by Steven Lewis on January 08, 1999 at 18:33:30:
In Reply to: Bings "complete" UA recordings posted by Jim Crowley on January 08, 1999 at 17:16:34:
Usually there's a reason a particular 'take' of a song becomes the
original release -- it's considered the best. I, too, agree that most
of the alternate takes released in the 3-CD set of Bing's UA
recordings are less appealing than the orginals. I'm glad I kept my
original albums. However, it is nice to have these alternate takes
too, especially since Ken Barnes does such a nice job of remixing
them. And every so often one of the alternate takes becomes my
favorite version.
Posted by Benjamin Miller on January 08, 1999 at 21:14:30:
In Reply to: Re: alternate takes posted by Steven Lewis on January 08, 1999 at 18:33:30:
Steven,
I was actually unaware that some of of takes on the "Complete" UA
sessions were alternates. I do not have any of Bing's LP's but do
have many cd's so I could not compare. I did realize that the take of
"At my time of life" on the UA sessions was different from the take
that is on the CD release of "Just Breezin' Along (a 10th anniv
momento"
I would like to know what were the other takes on the UA sessions
that were actually alternates and not the ones that appeared on the
original albums.
Thanks
Ben Miller
Posted by Joe McGrenra on January 09, 1999 at 18:09:32:
In Reply to: Re: alternate takes posted by Benjamin Miller on January 08, 1999 at 21:14:30:
If you go into the booklet provided with the set, the track listing
has a A/T next to each alternate take(there is 1 on the first CD,
none on the second CD and 5 on the third CD). Also, the set is
called "The complete United Artists Sessions", but Ken Barnes in th
notes correctly states te set represents the set includes"...every
commercial studio title that Bing recorded for UA..."). There were 2
tracks recorded in September 1977 for a Red coss benefit album and
some poetry readings for another charity (also in 1977).
Posted by Steven Lewis on January 09, 1999 at 22:04:06:
In Reply to: Re: alternate takes posted by Joe McGrenra on January 09, 1999 at 18:09:32:
If you look at the small print in the "Complete UA Sessions" booklet you will see that "A/T" actually means "alternate take previously unissued." The "previously unissued" is especially important. Two previous CDs of Bing's UA recordings ("How Lucky Can You Get" and "Just Breezin' Along") contain nearly two-thirds of the content of the "Complete UA Sessions." Many of these versions are alternate takes, different from the original releases on LP in the 1970s. These alternate takes were repeated on the "Complete UA Sessions" but were not labelled "A/T" because they had previously been released on CD. For example, on disc one of the "Complete UA Sessions" the songs "Change Partners" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?" are not tagged "A/T" but they are distinctly different from the versions released on the original LPs.
The moral of the story is don't toss your original LPs when you buy
the "Complete UA Sessions."
Posted by Arne Fogel on January 10, 1999 at 04:41:29:
In Reply to: Re: alternate takes posted by Steven Lewis on January 09, 1999 at 22:04:06:
I hate to carp, but actually, a bigger problem for me with the "complete UA" package is the sloppy mixes on some of the tracks. I sure don't want to criticize Ken Barnes (who made a major contribution to the legend of Bing Crosby and to whom we should all be eternally grateful), but every track on the "Complete" package that wasn't on (A) The "Breezin'" CD, (B) the "How LuckY" CD, or (C) the "Beautiful Memories" original LP has been mixed terribly on the new package. In the recording business we would call them "dry" or "flat" mixes, which (for me, anyway) takes away from the original full, lush sound that was on tracks like "Hello Dolly" and "Great Day". As far as alternate takes is concerned, it must be noted that the "A/T" listing in the booklet doesn't quite tell the full story, as there are other tracks in the package that are "amalgams" of the original takes and portions of alternate take material. I think some of the choices have been botched. For instance, "No Time At All" has half of the original take, but then switches to an inferior take in the last half of the song (The original "last half" of the song can be heard on disc #2 as part of the "fluff" version of the song). On the other hand, I think the alternates of "My Resistance Is Low", "Something To Remember You By", and "My Heart Stood Still" are vast improvements over the original LP tracks.