Living Stereo Titles Available Now
200+ Reviews of Living Stereo Records
If you like your large group recordings to have huge three-dimensional space and depth, look no further. This is vintage RCA Living Stereo at its best – transparent, Tubey Magical, big and bold. Let’s give credit where credit is due, to the amazing AL SCHMITT.
We know his work well; he happens to have engineered many albums with SUPERB SOUND: Aja, Hatari, Breezin’, Late for the Sky, Toto IV, as well as some we can’t stand (the entire Diana Krall digital-echo-drenched catalog comes to mind).
Bold, fun, imaginative takes on jazz standards and other songs, yes, Allmusic is right: this isn’t really jazz, but it sure is jazzy, and with 1960 Hollywood Studios Living Stereo sound you will find yourself lost in these fun arrangements played with style and verve.
What to Listen For (WTLF)
Big bass. Both sides have plenty of bottom end on the better copies.
The sound of the saxophone on the second track on side one is so real it may just give you chills.
On the third track take note of the muted horns — that’s cool jazz at its best.
On the first track of side two note how solid and powerful the piano sounds.
Hi-Fidelity
What do we love about these Living Stereo Hot Stamper pressings? The timbre of every instrument is Hi-Fi in the best sense of the word. The instruments here are reproduced with remarkable fidelity. Now that’s what we at Better Records mean by “Hi-Fi”, not the kind of Audiophile Phony BS Sound that passes for Hi-Fidelity in some circles. There’s no boosted top, there’s no bloated bottom, there’s no sucked-out midrange. There’s no added digital reverb (Patricia Barber, Diana Krall, et al.). The microphones are not fifty feet away from the musicians (Water Lily) nor are they inches away (Three Blind Mice).
This is Hi-Fidelity for those who recognize The Real Thing when they hear it. I’m pretty sure our customers do, and whoever picks this one up is guaranteed to get a real kick out of it.
Al Schmitt
Al Schmitt recorded The Blues and the Beat and on a copy such as this one it should be clear to all that he knocked it out of the park. The guy’s won 13 Grammy Awards, that ought to tell you something.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
The Blues
Smoke Rings
Misty
Blue Flame
After Hours
Mood Indigo
Side Two
The Beat
Big Noise From Winnetka
Alright, Okay, You Win
Tippin’ In
How Could You Do A Thing Like That To Me
Sing, Sing, Sing
AMG Review
With The Blues and the Beat, Henry Mancini delivered one of his bluesiest, jazziest records. Though it isn’t an entirely successful experiment, it has its share of delightful moments, as proved by “Mood Indigo” and “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Mancini could never deliver straight jazz, but his easy, orchestrated approximations are enjoyable as their own entity.