I haven't been able to accomplish much recently due to a faltering computer (not to mention its faltering operator), but I did get this enjoyable set by Les Brown in the can.It's organized around colors, a common motif for record sets then and now. The most common theme over the years has probably been travel, followed by colors and women's names, I would guess.
So no prize for originality, nor are the song choices anything special, although "Red Wing" and "Azure" aren't all that well known.
But, as I said, the program is a good one, played by Brown's superb band, which was a working unit at the time, I believe. Among the soloists are pianist Jeff Clarkson and guitarist Tony Rizzi; the featured tenor sax is probably Dave Pell, and the trombonist is likely Dick Noel.
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| Frank Comstock |
The smooth arrangements are by Frank Comstock, who had been on Brown's staff for a few years and then continued to write for him for many years thereafter. Comstock later made some LPs under his own name, backed the Hi-Los and other singers on their records, and wrote and arranged for films and television (I fondly remember his Rocky and Bullwinkle themes.)
This set dates from 1951 and is Brown's first LP (a 10-incher) on Coral, which he had joined from Columbia. I transferred two of his Columbia LPs previously, which can be found here and here. The sound on the Coral disc is vivid.
LINK to remastered version in ambient stereo (June 2025)
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ReplyDeleteWell, your computer along with its operator are working just fine near as I can tell. Looking forward to hearing this.. Thanks.
DeleteFantastic to hear more of the great arrangements and original sound of Les Brown. Thanks a lot Buster !
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
ReplyDeleteI very enjoy your posts! Great Artists, great albums, great times, great blog!
Thanks for the shout out, Buster, much appreciated! And don't forget that we did Holiday for Stings on duo-harps at the beginning of the season. :) I was just looking at a copy of Frank Sinatra's Tone Poems of Color last night, so it's a pretty common theme. I prefer the ones that feature original compositions to those that just bring together songs featuring colors, but I'm not too picky.
ReplyDeleteBuster--thanks for a nifty post. I've been watching a lot of old Bob Hope specials lately (I don't know why, I just have) and always enjoy the cutaway to Les in the opening of the show (usually right before they start telling you about the new Chryslers)... --Jeff
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, everyone. I have come to realize how good Brown's records are by doing these transfers.
ReplyDeletethanks you very much
ReplyDeleteI always enjoy Les "Brown's Coral recordings. Thanks for this gem.
ReplyDeleteVery nice Les Thank You
ReplyDeleteThank you! Tip: try to hear Les Brown's in town, Buster!
ReplyDeletecvllos - Good idea - I think I have that one!
ReplyDeleteThanks much for the remastered version of this, Buster! I love to make my own themed playlists, especially for road trips and such; a trait I probably acquired from a lifelong fondness for these sort of compilations, dating from the days of digging thru my folks LPs. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, mike - Sounds like you are more organized than I am!
DeleteLol! I have spent nearly as long digitizing my music libraries as I spent buying and collecting them. When the day comes that I can't warehouse this stuff anymore, it will be pretty easy to have all my music with me at the nursing home hehehe. The bonus is that it is definitely fun and easy to do those kind of compilations I referred to. Sometimes I'll pick the strangest word out of the blue and find the most marvelous and unexpected collection of songs pop up around that theme. For that, I am grateful to have hammered out all that metadata :-D
ReplyDeletemike - Sounds ingenious!
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