In search of Extra Powerful Caruso recordings

[Wolfe]

A Legendary Performer uses the Soundstream process, which has it's pluses and minuses, up close I think they can sound too processed, but they can sound really good in a big room with natural reverberation.

I believe The current individual RCA CD's use Soundstream, as does the RCA 'Complete Caruso' box set, which I possess, and value, as I do Naxos's complete set, which was transferred by the great Ward Marston.

But as indicated above, I've yet to hear any CD that sounds as good as the best of my own 78's, played back on their own.

[Lenoirstreetguy]

The Victor machine in the photo of Caruso was in Chinese Chippindale style and it was a wedding present when he married Dorothy Benjamin. The record in the lid is a gold copy of the first side he recorded for Victor...not G & T ,,, I believe.

And in term of performances I have always liked Deh, chio ritorni from L'Africana , It's a late one ( 1920 I think) and his voice isn't at it's freshest but it is intensely dramatic and they use an orchestra that is a little bigger than usual for the Caruso sides.

Jim

[Wolfe]

What are your thoughts on the 1976 compilation CARUSO--A LEGENDARY PERFORMER that RCA released? It was the first album to use a form of digital signal processing to virtually eliminate horn resonances and other distortions from the original recordings, and also the first American album (AFAIK) to be, as it were, digitally mastered.

Was it digitally mastered? There is some hiss underneath all the Soundstream tracks that make me think the transfers were mastered to analog tape.

The hiss is more apparent on the CD's.

[gramophoneshane]

I uploaded another 10 Caruso songs yesterday on youtube. If you go to my channel page they should be at the top of the list for the next 12-24 hrs. Half of them are those "electric" remixes, like the one below, but if any appeal to you, you can always hunt for the acoustic equivelents.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VdFOonZ0rU[/youtube]

[JohnM]

The Victor machine in the photo of Caruso was in Chinese Chippindale style and it was a wedding present when he married Dorothy Benjamin. The record in the lid is a gold copy of the first side he recorded for Victor...not G & T ,,, I believe.

Jim

By gosh, you are right! I don't know why I called it a XVI! It is a Chinese Chippendale. Getting old ain't for sissies! Thanks for the correction, Jim!

John M

[B.B.B]

Thanks to all of you for your videos, suggestions & your time!
I'll go thru them all this weekend ,that is one great Saturday night!

I found a video of the L'Africana: Deh, ch'io ritorni
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb23GRlvDE
O yes, that one hit the right spot