Ace of Clubs/Eclipse/World of ... etc

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Joe Orton would have approved!

[gurnemanz]

Don't forget Ace of Diamonds!

I think this was my first solo harpsichord LP circa 1971. Still got it.

[Pulcinella]

Weren't the Eclipse cover pictures all National Trust related in some way?

[cloughie]

Weren't the Eclipse cover pictures all National Trust related in some way?

Yes.

[Wychwood]

The only Eclipse LP I still have is the Borodin SQ2 coupled with DSCH SQ8 (the Borodin Quartet of old). The caption for the cover photo is "Cottage by the roadside in Dorset".
Decca should have had a competition to find the most ingenious link between the music and the cover.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Most Decca Eclipse LPs were original mono recordings, but they were issued in electronic stereo versions as well, which was frowned upon by some, though I have to admit that some of these were done very well.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Most Decca Eclipse LPs were original mono recordings, but they were issued in electronic stereo versions as well, which was frowned upon by some, though I have to admit that some of these were done very well.

Yes - and do you remember the little hole in the back of the sleeve, so you could see the colour of the dust sleeve? Red for Mono, Blue for Stereo.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Yes - and do you remember the little hole in the back of the sleeve, so you could see the colour of the dust sleeve? Red for Mono, Blue for Stereo.

Oh yes.

[Keraulophone]

.

My introduction to gramophone records was the handful of 78s that my mother had brought from East Bengal when moving to London just before the Coronation of E II. Easily my favourite was Toscanini conducting his NBC SO in Rossini's overture to The Thieving Magpie. The nipper label was a darker hue of reddish-purple than the others, somehow making it feel special. Once that side drum began to roll, I was hooked, my ear drawn close to the small oval loudspeaker of the simple Collaro record player, with stylus flipped to '78'.

So my first LP was an eighth birthday present from my parents of the Ace of Clubs recording of Rossini Overtures by the Concertgebouw Orchestra / van Beinum:




It wasn't long before William Tell, memorably used in 'The Lone Ranger' television series, of course, took over as my most played track.

.

[mikealdren]

Martinon's Offenbach overtures is another all time great although, sadly, the sound on Eloquence is not too good.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The first LP I bought was the Boyd Neel Ace of Clubs recording of Handel's Water Music.

[Once Was 4]

.

My introduction to gramophone records was the handful of 78s that my mother had brought from East Bengal when moving to London just before the Coronation of E II. Easily my favourite was Toscanini conducting his NBC SO in Rossini's overture to The Thieving Magpie. The nipper label was a darker hue of reddish-purple than the others, somehow making it feel special. Once that side drum began to roll, I was hooked, my ear drawn close to the small oval loudspeaker of the simple Collaro record player, with stylus flipped to '78'.

So my first LP was an eighth birthday present from my parents of the Ace of Clubs recording of Rossini Overtures by the Concertgebouw Orchestra / van Beinum:




It wasn't long before William Tell, memorably used in 'The Lone Ranger' television series, of course, took over as my most played track.

.

I got this one for Christmas when about 14!

Another was the Sargent/LSO 'Planets'. Years later I was able to talk to the late John Burden about that one on which he was 1st horn. I said how lovely his playing at the start of Venus was.
He responded that Sargent insisted that he played it handstopped about which he was appalled but he did as he was told (he did not always do that - there is a story - unfit for a family group - about John Burden's reaction to a certain child conductor!). When the disc was released it sounded just as it should; the engineers had included that passage from a balance test rather than a take.

John Burden was one of the greats (he led the horns on the film score for 633 Squadron for the original soundtrack).

[gurnemanz]

.

My introduction to gramophone records was the handful of 78s that my mother had brought from East Bengal when moving to London just before the Coronation of E II. Easily my favourite was Toscanini conducting his NBC SO in Rossini's overture to The Thieving Magpie. The nipper label was a darker hue of reddish-purple than the others, somehow making it feel special. Once that side drum began to roll, I was hooked, my ear drawn close to the small oval loudspeaker of the simple Collaro record player, with stylus flipped to '78'.

So my first LP was an eighth birthday present from my parents of the Ace of Clubs recording of Rossini Overtures by the Concertgebouw Orchestra / van Beinum:




It wasn't long before William Tell, memorably used in 'The Lone Ranger' television series, of course, took over as my most played track.

.

Seeing Ref No ACL 15 made me wonder what ACL 1 might have been.

Answer:



Full list for anoraks here.

[Once Was 4]

Seeing Ref No ACL 15 made me wonder what ACL 1 might have been.

Answer:



Full list for anoraks here.

Nearly bought this one for 20p in an antiques and curios shop at Wakefield White Rose centre last Saturday (playing in a concert that evening at the cathedral and wandering around after the rehearsal). I should have done although I may never have played it.
I do remember a reviewer talking about "Ace of Clubs fizz" in reference to the sound quality on some of these discs. Many were produced by Jimmy Walker who was part of John Culshaw's team for the Solti Ring recording. I worked for Jimmy at D'Oyly Carte in the early 70s; a man of many talents but could be intimidating (he had it in for one of the violinists and would sometimes lean over her cupping a hand to his ear).