Jennifer Warnes

Just heard her duet with Chris Hillman (the Byrds) from his new album on WFUV this morning, and thought I should dig up the four LPs I have of her material, and give them a critical listen.

Jennifer Warnes - Best of [Arista 1982 US]

Lousy. Argh. Three tracks in, I have to stop.


Jennifer Warnes - S/T [Arista WLP 1976. "PRC"]

"Love Hurts" is an improvement. The sound (Mastering by Bernie Grundman) is a lot more satisfying, although I think he may have handled the hits also (no credit though). "Round and Round" is sacharine. So, onto the Rolling Stones cover "Shine a Light". Everything I've heard so far just doesn't have much energy. The musicians don't sound engaged. It seems like the Christian theme is important to Warnes, but I'm not feeling the "faith". Skipping straight to the Allmusic recommended track, "Right Time of the Night", also the first track on the hits. And much fuller here. Still watery drivel.

Jennifer Warnes - Shot Through the Heart [Arista 1979, "Mastered at Capitol, HUB"]

Ken Perry has the mastering credit, but the in initials are "HUB". Odd. "I Know a Heartache When I see One" sounds so different from the Hits version, I thought it was a different performance. But I think it just shows Perry's mastering skills.

Elimination round: Which LPs to ditch?

I'm picking off likely candidates, listening to stuff I picked up for some deluded reason, and never played.

1. Jo Stafford - Jo's Greatest Hits [Columbia 6 eyeCL1228 mono]

Compressed. And distorted. And blah. "Hawaian War Chant" has feisty swing drums. But...Out.
Sure, the six-eye label was sonically often strong (IIRC, the label and female vocalist genre were the draws). An all tube mastering system was still the norm, and these really early mono singles (compiled) sound fine apart from Columbia's sub-standard vinyl, and heavy-handed compression.


2. Red Nichols and His Pennies - Parade of the Pennies [RCA LM 1455]

The typical whiter than white front man for RCA in 1960, but Downbeat magazine have given this their stamp of approval, and Red Nichols trumpet playing has sounded fine elsewhere. Crackly stuff. 1939 recordings reissued, transferred from 78s I assume. Not a terrible transfer, but not something I'd reach for.

3. Squeeze - Babylon and On [A&M 1987 DMM]

Mastering engineer Jack Skinner at Sterling Sound NYC...50 years later. Despite the direct metal master approach, Skinner delivers a punchy 80s sound. Wet Wet Wet-style pop. Really pop, in a bad way. This is gone. Based on Allmusic's reviews, Argy Bargy sounds like the place to start, so I'm not counting them out yet.

4. Squeeze - Singles [A&M US 1982]

OK. Now, I get them. "Goodbye Girl" has song-writing, distinct instrumentation and tonality. Sonically, this is fine. Perhaps the UK pressing is better, but I'm cranking this, and realizing that Squeeze charted for good reason. Its a keeper. Best to get back to more dubious stuff. And yet, the LP is still playing. "Up The Junction"...I hadn't realized this was Squeeze. Great! Keeper


Next is a Phoebe Snow fiesta: 3 LPs, other than the DCC self-titled LP. The only reason I investigated anything as evidently uncool as Snow is that Steve Hoffman mastered her debut.

6. Phoebe Snow - Something Real ["Audiophile vinyl" promo on Elektra 1989, Masterdisk DMM]

White label pressings are so alluring for their sonic potential. And despite not featuring his "RL" this is most likely Robert Ludwig's handiwork, as he is credited in the liner notes. Snow's songwriting is lite-FM dull. So, once again, a sonic pleasure, if a little dated - adult-contemporary 80s power balladeering, but musically, nada.


7. Phoebe Snow - Never Letting Go [CBS 1977 promo Masterdisk, Robert Ludwig "RL"]

Great sound. Really lovely sonics and quiet vinyl. But the music is uninspired. "Garden of Joy Blues" has pleasant guitar and organ. I have to admit I listened all the way through, and it went down easily, but this is out.


8. Phoebe Snow - Second Childhood [Columbia 1976 promo Sterling]

Schmaltzy sax. But I'm intrigued. What is "Two-fisted love"?
Ron Carter on bass on "Inspired Insanity", and Phil Ramone as engineer...and background vocals on "Sweet Desperation". Hmm. Solid sonics. But Dave Sanborn on sax. Can you say "Schmaltz"? Side two is notably louder. Have to turn down the Allmusic recommended track "All Over". OK, so 8 originals, how are the covers? Snow's song-writing just doesn't appeal (in fact, I need to go back to the debut to confirm that there's anything at work with this artist). The standard "Going Down for the Third Time" (what's with the innuendo?) doesn't do much. The electric piano on "There's A Boat..." at least has some distinction, solid Gershwin, but this is gooone.


9. Lena Horne and Harry Belafonte - Porgy and Bess [RCA LOP 1507, from 1959, I think this is stereo, although it doesn't explicitly say]

Engineer Ernest Oelrich from RCA has vocals right in your ear, with the orchestra way back. The Rockaway pressing is a drag. Belafonte sings with such conviction. After the drab Ray Charles and Cleo Laine version, I'm drawn into the story. And then...Horne kicks off "Summertime". Oh mi gosh. Whose the bassist!? This blow away the other versions of Porgy and Bess I have. A keeper.
The cheesey, coffee colored RCA poster stars are amusing.

Picking LPs to sell: The weakest link

The WFMU record fair is approaching on November 3 - 5, and I'm picking out records to sell to fund the weekend binge. Also, with the house up for sale, it really doesn't make sense to put all the records into storage, so I'll be shopping a few boxes of LPs and CDs around the local stores soon.

This collection has been refined over the past 20 years, with regular pruning and refining, so the inventory gets stronger, and it gets harder to find titles to sell. That said, I find the process of assessing which records to sell really helpful for critical listening. And who knows, I may open up enough space to get the current loose stacks actually onto the overstuffed shelves.

1. Dimitri Tiomkin - Giant: Soundtrack [Capitol grey label mono]

The copy is crackly, despite grading well visually. The top seam split all the way. The music is charming. A classic sountrack that evokes fond memories of the James Dean Western. I love the warm, rich, tubey sound of Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, George Shearing and Judy Garland titles on the original mono Grey label. That makes the label itself appealing as a signal of great sound. But since I put an end to ten years reviewing soundtracks, I've appreciated a few without listening to movie music. And in some ways it feels like work. Giant won't get much play, so this one is out for being a soundtrack, and too crackly.

2. Peter Nero - Piano Forte, The Magnificent Piano of Peter Nero [RCA Living Stereo LSP 2334]

The instrumental "Over the Rainbow" is full of classical pomp, but actually a fun orchestration, and suddenly switches to jazz. Nero's first RCA LP, released 1961, but this pressing looks mid-60s if you compare it with the RCA labelography (7f). The stamper is A1 I 8s, so early, and the sound is fine, if occasionally crackly. The first side has actually been an unexpected pleasure, particularly "My Funny Valentine". What a playful, effusive style. Shame about the occasional distortion, although that may clean up. This is a keeper, and in fact, I'll look out for more Nero.

3. James Newton - Romance and Revolution [Blue Note Digital DMM 1986]

Digitally-sourced vinyl, Direct Metal Mastering, on jazz from within the last 30 years. Three strikes. You're out. But hold on, 4.5 stars from Allmusic. A Mingus composition. A well-constructed artist site. And the dead wax reveals that this was cut at Masterdisk by "TD" (not sure which mastering engineer that would be, not Mike Moran who handled recording)

But all in all I can't get past not really liking jazz from the past 30 years. Or more importantly, preferring jazz pre-1975, and with limited space, and the off-chance that given that this is on Blue Note, and IIRC the Beastie Boys sampled him, it may be worth a few bucks. Its gone.

4. Mario Lanza - Love Songs and Neapolitan Serenade [RCA LM 1188]

A shaded dog reissue of early Lanza. There's a background feedback hum, perhaps a snafu in the mastering. And this is excruciating on various levels. The opinions published on EnjoyTheMusic about RCA monos on any label after the plum are spot on. And somehow I have two copies.

5. Jussi Bjoerling - Jussi Bjoerling in Song [RCA LM 1771]

Like the Lanza, this came in a Nagaoka anti-static record sleeve No. 102. Never seen that sort of sleeve before, but I liked the Japanese audiophile touch, and it signalled that both titles probably had the same owner at one point. No more though. Bjoerling stays. Lanza is out.

Sonically, sure there's crackle, but the rich, full sound overpowers any complaints. Surely the early, all-red, red seal label is a consistent winner.

The Swede, Jussi handles Schubert with grace and vigor, at home with the German and Scandanavian (Sibelius) arias. The "zum ersten kuss" of Liszt's "Es musss ein Wunderbares sein" is particularly moving.

I hadn't realized that the New Orthophonic process dated back this far (the label is 1951-1954).

6. Robert Shaw Chorale - A Mighty Fortress [LM 2199 shaded dog]

The photo, as with all my photos is swiped from someone else. My copy is mono.

"Glorious things of thee are spoken" reminds me of my own choir-boy years [I actually performed at the Royal Albert Hall on one occasion]. But US accent of the choir just don't have the solemn magic for my taste. I'll stick with the Argo UK series. This is gone.

7. Elizabeth Schumann [LCT 1126]

A 1953 reissue of 78s. Her voice has a vulnerable feel, but also great conviction on these lieder from Schubert. But she doesn't hold my attention, or really win me over. Gone.

8. Ten Tenors Ten Arias [LM 1202 plum shaded dog]

Two strikes. Its a reissue, and an opera compilation with various singers. Its hard to master transfers of 78s and the mish-mash of sources with any consistency. And there's Lanza. Strike three.

9. Vladimir Horowitz / Arturo Toscanini - Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 [RCA LM 2319 shaded dog]

This poses a problem. Two titans captured in 1943 at Carnegie Hall, and unreleased until 1959. But the sound is poor, and smothers the fierce performance. The Penguin Guide prefers Horowitz's 1941 performance, giving it a rosette despite being transferred from 78s. Gone.

10. Humperdink - Hansel and Gretel [RCA LM2457]

I'm capped out on classical right now, and can't find a good reason to ditch Hansel and Gretel.