"Lost Treasures" sound files available

[Harry]

resigning himself to his scratched BTS 45 rpm copy of FIRE & RAIN...

David, in addition to being the flip side of "Last Tango In Paris", "Fire And Rain" was also included on a British compilation album with two different titles. The first one, AMLP 8007, was called PLAY THE STANDARDS OF TODAY. It was reissued on the Music For Pleasure label as THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU. I managed to find the latter of these two.

Though the album is in stereo, "Fire And Rain" itself is a sort of pseudo-stereo. Since it's an album, you might find the track to be in better shape than your old 45.

Or of course you could try locating another copy of the 45 in better shape.

Harry
...with some ideas for Dave regarding "Fire And Rain", online...

 

[Harry]

Personal opinion on the sound files:

The Shout Factory clips sound better than the amazon versions. Perhaps it's because I use a dial-up, but the amazon clips are all mono, whereas Shout's are in stereo.

Harry

 

[thetijuanataxi]

I don't mind muting as an effect or embellishment here and there. It sounds good on "I WILL WAIT FOR YOU" and feels right on "LIMBO ROCK" for instance. But I think Herb has used it lately beyond the boundaries of creating a nice effect. He has some beautiful melodies in his solo catalog that I know would have been dyn-o-mite with his rich open horn sound. FIRE AND RAIN is a bouncy arrangement that if you forget the lyrics, takes nicely to a mariachi style trumpet melody line. I always wondered why that song wasn't put on an album. I don't mean to seem sour in light of all the other wonderful treats on this CD, but I can only equate what Herb did with FAR to how I felt when "New Coke" came out, supposedly improving upon the old drink. On the other side of the coin, I am reminded of just how much I've always liked "I Can't Go On Living Baby, Without You". I can see by the sample that I will enjoy this new version as well as the original when YSTSB finally gets released.

David,
feeling like there is suddenly a reason to visit the music stores again...........

 

[thetijuanataxi]

Thanks, Harry. Your post made me remember that I do have a CDR version that Wendell Johnson made for me awhile back along with some other B sides and rarities and it sounds much better than my 45. But, still it would be nice to have a remastered studio version of that arrangement. Herb, if you're reading LOST TREASURES VOL.2 with original FIRE AND RAIN, EL BIMBO, MEXICAN DRUMMER MAN on it.........

David,
dreaming again.......

 

[Rudy]

Personal opinion on the sound files:

The Shout Factory clips sound better than the amazon versions. Perhaps it's because I use a dial-up, but the amazon clips are all mono, whereas Shout's are in stereo.

Harry

I listened through headphones since I was doing an editing project.

On Amazon, the RealAudio clips were by far the worst.

Shout!Factory has stereo Quicktimes samples, but I found the "garbled" sound to be a little too distracting, and it did strip away a little of the higher frequencies.

The Windows Media trades off the stereo for a little more intelligibility in mono. So between this and the Quicktime, it's like six of one, a half dozen of another.

A well-encoded MP3 file could probably have sounded better than all three of these, depending on the encoder software.

None of the three are all that good, but the RealAudio were the worst. None of them are any good for telling how good the mastering is on the reissues; only the genuine article will do for that.

 

[Captain Bacardi]

I guess the 45's of "Fire and Rain" and "Whistle Song" are now rarer than before.



Capt. Bacardi

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Now I KNOW I will wait for the real thing!

 

[TonyCurrie]

FIRE AND RAIN also appeared in the UK on the excellent October 1973 A&M foursider "PORTRAIT OF HERB ALPERT" along with LAST TANGO IN PARIS, and LA VIRGIN DE MAC ARENA. 31 tracks in a really nice gatefold sleeve with decent sleeve notes - and it sold for £1.99 (Recommended Retail Price. This label is Removable)!!