Question of speed

[De Soto Frank]

I haven't checked it for pitch, but i have a Victor blue "arch-label" issue of "Rhapsody in Blue", with George Gershwin and Paul Whiteman's band, which is on two sides, 12 inch. The fast passages are hysterically fast ... and I think there are some cuts too. Even if they slowed the lathe down, I still suspect they pushed tempi to get it to fit on a single disc.

I have a Columbia recording from about 20 years later, with Oscar Levant and Philadelphia/Ormandy that occupies three sides, 12 inch. The spare side of the second disc has Gershwin's Prelude #2 and #3, piano solo.

[Wolfe]

I haven't checked it for pitch, but i have a Victor blue "arch-label" issue of "Rhapsody in Blue", with George Gershwin and Paul Whiteman's band, which is on two sides, 12 inch. The fast passages are hysterically fast ... and I think there are some cuts too. Even if they slowed the lathe down, I still suspect they pushed tempi to get it to fit on a single disc.

That version runs to 9 minutes, on two sides of a 12" record. Just about exactly the length of the electrical remake of a few years later, also on a 12" inch disc.

Some 12" discs will approach (or maybe even exceed) 5 minutes a side, but they are not common.

[CptBob]

That reminds me of that classic 1960s LP, "Pinky & Perky's Greatest Hits" and the sub-title said, can you tell these from the original sounds. For non-UK readers, Pinky & Perky were a pair of puppet pigs who had a children's television show. Their singing might have been the results of helium inflation.

My generation, but I never quite "got" Pinky and Perky! They are on 78 too... I have a copy (just to be obtuse, as I disliked them so much when growing up ).

The effect was achieved by speeding recordings up (i.e. recording the voices against the instrumental backing playing at half speed).

My generation too, they passed me by. We didn't have a telly when I was a kid. The copy of greatest hits was one of my ex-wife's childhood artifacts. I only mentioned them as an example of octave transposition. Oh dear, I'm getting defensive, having said that, if I saw one or two on 78 I'd probably buy them if they weren't expensive.

[Henry]

Does anybody remember The Chipmunks? Same kind of technique with similar results.

[Wolfe]

Les Paul made a number of hit records using that technique as well. Starting with disc to disc dubs, like this one.

http://youtu.be/q6VHlqH4-xs

He began to overuse it though.