Search - Various Artists :: Hard To Find Jukebox Classics 1958: More Pop Gold

A pefect reason why cd reissues should still exist

Thomas J. Diehl | Rensselaer, NY United States | 10/15/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This review started out as a response to the first review of this cd but i figured i'd better give it a real posting instead of listing it as a response to another review.



The Teddy Bears track is a sync up between a newly discovered (actually, discovered in early 2007 but they couldn't do anything with it until now) undubbed session tape track (in this case i would've prefered them to include the song in clean mono--sync ups between one basic mono track with most elements and one full mono track with all elements, will have a lot of differences and a lot of minor phasing issues, as this one does. While it's neat to hear, the extra drumbeat added live to the original mono mix seems to get completely buried in this new stereo version).



The other song on this cd I find somewhat lacking is the Perry Como track which most definitely sounds like a DCS mix although not stated as such. I feel that had this track been properly licensed with the RCA receiving a licensing fee instead of this company waiting for the track to fall into the public domain so that they didn't have to pay the original company, they might have gotten the right to use the original 2-track master which no doubt still exists within the Sony archives. Having this song in true 2-track stereo would've made this cd all the more special to pick up. I also would've rather the company left Lou Monte's Lazy Mary in wide 2-track stereo as well.



For me, this cd is worth picking up for one new stereo track, Bird On My Head by David Seville. Some of the other harder to find true stereo tracks are also worth picking this cd up, as are those that are in clean mono.



The overall song selection for this cd is excellent given how many rareties this cd has, and the DCS of Torero is fun to listen to a couple of times, even knowing that it doesn't fold down to mono matching the 45 100%.....the same effect can't be said of the Perry Como and Teddy Bears tracks due to the phasing issues of the background music, however, but it's interesting to hear those a couple of times as well....those tracks won't replace my mono copies in my collection, but you can bet that i've thrown out my old mono reissue 45 of Bird On My Head after hearing the song in wonderful true stereo on this cd. Along with getting the rare wide stereo version of Witch Doctor on this cd as well, there are some points that make this cd worth picking up, and other points that make me wish the cd would've had different sources on them (ie mono instead of digitally enhanced and created stereo mixes). Overall i'd give it 4 stars, and the new David Seville stereo track weighs heavily in that decision."

Great follow-up to first 1958 volume

Zub | Forks Twp., PA | 09/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With all the music from the rock `n' roll era that has been reissued on CD in the past quarter century, how many tunes from the top-100 charts could have still evaded the CD compilers? Quite a few actually, and thankfully the folks at Hit Parade Records have continued the quest to mine the vaults for those long-lost 45's.



In this follow-up volume to their Hard to Find Jukebox Classics of 1958, we get the double treat of new-to-CD tunes alongside new stereo of some more familiar tracks. Among those tunes seeing CD daylight for the first time, in quality fashion anyway, are "The Bird on My Head", David Seville's follow-up to his massive hit "Witch Doctor", the Beverly Sisters' moment in the pop-chart sun "Greensleeves" and Tony Bennett's "Happiness Street", his top-forty hit on the flipside of "From the Candy Store on the Corner to the Chapel on the Hill".



Equally intriguing are new stereo mixes of, or in one case a reconstruction of, recordings that have been previously available only in mono. Heading up this list is a stereo version of the Teddy Bears' number one pre-wall-of-sound Phil Spector production "To Know Him Is to Love Him", assembled from newly discovered multi-track tapes. Also newly mixed to stereo is Perry Como's "Magic Moments", his top-5 hit flipside of "Catch a Falling Star". One other track, Renato Carosone's top-20, Italian-language rarity "Torero!" gets the DCS (Digitally Constructed Stereo) treatment. While it may get up the nose of mono purists, it is amazingly effective and nothing like the horrific "electronically rechanneled stereo" debacle foisted on the music-buying public in the early years of stereo .



While this new collection shines with its many rarities, every track here was top-40 with one exception and a third of them were top-10. Interspersed with the truly hard-to-find gems are more familiar songs in the likes of Connie Francis' "Stupid Cupid", Jimmy Clanton's "Just a Dream", and a pair of Johnny Mathis hits. Though some of the tracks reach further back in time than the title would suggest, many of these rare 1956 and 1957 ditties are a welcome addition to this piece, date of charting popularity notwithstanding.



Completing the package is a 12-page liner notes booklet with track details, pics and background on the included performers. While no details are provided as to the sonic sources for the recordings presented here, the producers have no apologies to make for the quality of the reproduction. One would be hard pressed to find it better elsewhere, if at all, in many instances.



Hit Parade Records rings the bell again with this new volume in their remarkable "Hard to Find" series. Casual and avid collectors alike should be adding this CD to their musical shopping lists in droves."

A stellar collection of oldies

L. Smith | Texas | 12/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am so pleased to find these treasures on CD, titles no one else would have made available for us with such great sound and packaging - THANKS HIT PARADE RECORDS!"