United Record Pressing, Tour of the Plant!

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:12:08 +0000

This is a great video. The commentator breaks down the process and explains how the whole system works. Nice job!

Big Bill Broonzy, Why Should I Spend My Money? Okeh, 1941

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 08:54:11 +0000

Hello Vinyl Peoples! Today we have another find from digging through the Vintage Fidelity collection. This 78 rpm record is from 1941 on the Okeh label. Two songs… She’s Gone With The Wind and Why Should I Spend My Money? Both tunes are only piano, guitar, and vocal. She’s Gone with the wind has a moderate tempo with a heavy blues progression. The piano and voice come through the best on this recording. Broonzy sings.. “Better watch your enemy… Keep your eye on your friends..” The piano sounds great throughout the track. The guitar is hard to hear, but you can hear some small blues runs and note bends in there from time to time. Sounds like there was only one mic for the recording. The second tune, Why Should I Spend My Money? has more of an up tempo/swing feel to it. You can hear Big Bill and the “Tickler Man” get into the song by tapping their feet and being a little more lively on this tune.

Overall both tunes are great. These songs would be good to learn on the guitar… I may have to pull out the flat top and look for some chord charts! See you next time music peoples!

Links
Artist: Big Bill Broonzy
Release Date: 12/2/1941
Label: Okeh Records
Tracks: She’s Gone With The Wind, Why Should I Spend My Money?
Listen: Why Should I Spend My Money? (Track has been down sampled to 128kbs for preview purposes.)
Photographs: Nice Photographs!

Billy Ward and His Dominoes, Don’t Leave Me This Way, Federal

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:22:41 +0000

In the Vintage Fidelity vaults we recently found a record on the Federal label from 1953… Billy Ward and His Dominoes singing Don’t Leave Me This Way and These Foolish Things Remind Me of You. Both songs are slow ballads and took a little while to get used to the slower tempo. After listening to this 78 a few times.. (The turn table spins as I work on the computer), I started to really notice the space and emotion in each song. The listener has more of a chance to connect with the song, as compared to today’s music where every production trick and piece of outboard effects are plugged into a single track. The background harmonies provide an added layer of music… but the lead voice is crisp and clear. There is just sparse guitar, piano, and bass throughout Don’t Leave Me This Way. The instruments are in the back of the mix, while he vocal harmonies a bit louder, with the lead vocal the most up front. Some dude with a bass style voice really cuts through on the track These Foolish Things Remind Me of You.

Billy Ward had an interesting career that spans many years and throughout many geogrphic areas. This artist is really worth checking out and learning more about. Its great to hear 3 instruments a mic and a few voices make music that lasts forever!

Artist: Billy Ward and his Dominoes
Release Date: 1953
Label: Federal Records – 12129
Tracks: Don’t Leave Me This Way — Listen
These Foolish Things Remind Me of You

New Site Update Coming Soon!

admin — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:29:10 +0000

The Vintage Fidelity main site is going to be updated soon. Everything except the blog will be updated, so stay tuned!

Chuck Berry, Brown Eyed Handsome Man, Too Much Monkey Business, Chess 1956

admin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:03:48 +0000

This 78 rpm recording has made me a fan of Chuck Berry. Recorded in 1956, the two songs, Brown Eyed Handsome Man and Too Much Monkey Business, earned a #5 and #4 spot on the U.S. R&B charts. The songs are very catchy with lyrics like “She flew to Bombay to meet a Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” The recording/production of these songs is excellent. The guitar tone is very upfront in the song and clean. The other instruments have nice separation and work well together. There is an interesting little drum roll that could be sampled at the end of Too Much Monkey Business. Overall, this is a great recording!
Artist: Chuck Berry
Release Date: 1956
Label: Chess Records
Tracks: Brown Eyed Handsome Man — Sample-Listen
Too Much Monkey Business — Sample-Listen

Jimmy Reed, The Sun Is Shining, Vee-Jay, 1957

admin — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 23:09:04 +0000

There are two tracks, The Sun Is Shining and Baby, What’s On Your Mind? The Sun Is Shining is a bit faster, but still has a laid back blues feel. I really like the harmonica and guitar work on these tracks. Its amazing to listen to a musician play two instruments and sing. There are drums and bass which hold the song together, but Jimmy shines with all the rest. Its hard to production technique used, but one interesting sound is the reverb on the snare drum.. must have been the room itself. There are references to the Rolling Stones playing “The Sun Is Shining” in their early years.

Great music by a great musician.

Artist: Jimmy Reed
Release Date: 1957
Label: Vee-Jay Records
Serial: VJ 248
Tracks: The Sun Is Shining, What’s oN Your Mind — The Sun Is Shining–Sample

Lonnie Johnson, Happy New Year, Darling / Backwater Blues, King

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:16:31 +0000

This is the perfect record for the new year, 2010! Lonnie Johnson and Happy New Year, Darling on King. I wish it was my idea to post such a relevant title, but it was just coincidence. When the Lonnie Johnson records started appearing in the stacks, I took notice. The thing that sticks out in this recording is his voice and the guitar tone. The track Happy New Year, Darling has three instruments, guitar, bass, and piano. Lonnie is way up front in the recording and has such a great voice. Its an electric guitar, but I wonder what style…. it almost sounds like a hollow body when he hits the chords. An Mp3 has been made available in 128kbps.

Artist: Lonnie Johnson
Release Date: 1947?
Label: King Records
Serial: 4251-A
Tracks: Happy New Year Darling — Listen
For Sale: Lonnie Johnson — Happy New Year, Darling / Backwater Blues

Bobby Bland, Farther Up The Road, Duke, 78 rpm

admin — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:18:55 +0000

This is a really cool tune. It starts with sax and guitar doubling the same blues based riff. As the tune progresses, the guitar plays nice riffs around the vocal lines, but the tone really is very cool. The playing is very solid. Actually, the whole band is really good. Bobby delivers strong clear lyrics. His voice has a slight raspiness and is the featured line in the mix… right up front. Very cool song that is going on the personal mix for sure.
Artist: Bobby Bland
Release Date: 1957
Label: Duke Records
Tracks: Farther Up The Road — Listen Sometime Tomorrow — Listen

For Sale: Bobby “Blue” Bland, Farther Up The Road / Sometime Tomorrow.

Solomon Burke, Apollo Records, 78rpm

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:32:22 +0000

Solomon Burke, The King of Soul! Ok, now we really are getting vintage on the music blog. This is a 78 rpm recording on Apollo Records. Both songs are a slow to medium tempo, blues progression. The arrangement is a simple blues progression. Walking In A Dream. Slow to Medium tempo song. Recorded at 615 Tenth Avenue in Manhattan, the sound production is very good, especially on his voice. His voice really comes through clear and defined. Solomon really had great mic technique. He adjusted his voice and distance from the mic really well. The sax solo comes through great also. The production is better than I expected from a 78. Some simple guitar in the middle of the song. No Man Walks AloneMellow start. Horn section, bass, piano sound in the way back. The backup singers sound nuts. How do they hold those notes for so long and all over the scale like that? Solomon Burke had a fantastic voice, there is no doubt about it. Both songs have a slow build that end with Solomon delivering some powerful bars at the end. The last 4-8 bars are really awesome on both songs.

Artist: Solomon Burke
Release Date: 195?
Label: Apollo Records
Serial: AP 3587
Tracks: Walking In A Dream, No Man Walks Alone
For Sale: Coming Soon!

The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away, Cody Records, 1965

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:20:21 +0000

A very rare and collectible record. Extensive information about this record can be found at
The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away. There is also an interesting post from one of the former band members. This copy of The Omens plays very well for a record that is over 40 years old. There is no popping or clicking as the song plays, just light noise at the beginning and end, like any used record. The song Searching is an up tempo song with drums, tamborine, bass, guitar, organ, and the vocal lines. The song has a mixture of surf guitar and heavy fuzz effects. There aren’t many words in the song, but there are a few musical ideas. The song starts out loud with lots of energy, and the chorus is in the beginning…”Searchiiinnngggggg, Searching for Love!” Great song. The second song, Girl Get Away, is about the same tempo, around 112-116 bpm. It is not as loud, without the fuzz guitar tone. The vocals are smoother. Another interesting, great song. You can hear small Beatles and Beach Boys influences in each one of these tracks.

Artist: Cody Records
Release Date: 1965
Label: Cody Records
Tracks: Searching, Girl Get Away
For Sale: The Omens, Searching / Girl Get Away.