RARE AUDIOPHILE HALL OF FAME RECORD BIZET CARMEN SUITE NO. 1 WHITEHALL VINYL NM

$

80

Greetings from 21st Century Treasures!

For your consideration:

 Georges Bizet, Emmanuel Chabrier, Alexander Borodin

“Carmen Suite No. 1 / Espana / Polovtsian Dances"

Whitehall Records

WHS-40008

1959

US

Today we are very proud to offer an incredibly rare “Hall of Fame” pressing of Carmen Suite No. 1, Espana and Polovtsian, preformed by the Vienna Festival Orchestra and conducted by Philip Vernal.

  A Hall of Fame Pressing

This record PUTS TO SHAME most vintage Shaded Dogs, Mercurys and London records we've ever played , and it's released on vinyl by a relatively obscure budget label that most audiophiles have never even heard of and would probably not want to be caught dead with.

Which is a good reason to judge records by playing them, not reading about them on the net or in magazines. The sound of this record is so wonderful that, had it been a rare Shaded Dog, Merc or London it would have sold for something approaching twice the money we are asking here. In my experience very few of those recordings are as good as this one.  How can we make such an outrageous claim? It's simple -- we have the record, the actual physical piece of vinyl that backs up our seemingly ridiculous claims for its sound, and if you have the buck and a half we're asking you too can weigh the evidence of its sonic superiority.

The Value of this Commentary

Of course everything that I might say about the music, performance and sound is completely beside the point. All that matters is what you hear when you play the record. What we heard when we played this very record was the kind of music, performance and sound that a handful of records out of a thousand can boast of.

If I were to choose one record to play to demonstrate just how good classical music can sound in my listening room, I would have a hard time choosing any but this. (I will of course not be able to do any such thing as this record will leave here and most likely never come back. It's the lucky audiophile who will own it, and probably only he and a few friends will ever get a chance to enjoy it. Such is the world of Hot Stampers; every one is unique and once they leave here they can only be played by their new owner, usually in private.)

Keys to the Sound

With this record the one quality I would point to that makes it stand well above the crowd is tonal neutrality. It's the rare RCA Living Stereo record that doesn't have some tonality issues. Practically no Mercury Living Presence recording has no boost in the upper midrange. London would be the label I would single out with the best chance of being tonally correct in the midrange.

Hearing a record that sounds as good as this one throws all that into a cocked hat. Only a small fraction of RCAs, Mercs and Londons have sound that competes with the sound of this cheap Whitehall pressing, and for that I have no explanation. How could they accomplish with no money what the major labels could not, with all the money in the world?

I cannot explain it. What I can say is that we have been critically evaluating Golden Age recordings for close to two decades now and in that time we have literally played thousands of them. Few in my experience sound better than this.

The Law of Increasing Returns

Now, that's not being perfectly fair, as every year the stereo system and room get progressively better. As record cleaning technology continues to improve that too results in better sound, dramatically better in many cases, especially with these forty-plus year old records.

If you are continually putting into your system, room, etc. the necessary resources, you will find as we have that the goal posts keep moving. As long as you keep at it they'll never stop moving, and we think that's exactly the way it should be. No record you haven't played in a while should not sound better than it used to. This has to be seen for what it is -- PROGRESS. It just can't be anything else.

Side One

Side one has the Carmen Suite No. 1, some of the most recognizable and beautiful music ever written. I know of no better better performance. I know of no better sound. For fans of soundstaging, this record will surely blow your mind. It's as three-dimensional, wide and deep as any record we have every played, yet the transparency and freedom from coloration make even the sections of the orchestra furthest away still sound clear and lively. How they managed to pull that off where so many others have failed is frankly beyond me.

With a grade of A++; AMAZINGLY GOOD . It very nearly did it all, and it will put to shame practically any large scale orchestral recording you have ever heard.  The sound is so GLORIOUS in every way, with such a huge bottom end and extended top!

Side Two

A to A+, sub Hot Stamper and the kind of sound you might expect from a cheap reissue. It's smeary with no real top end and no real texture to the strings. The coupling works for side two are wonderful performances of Espana and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances.

The Music

Who can resist these sublimely colorful orchestral works? They are an audiophile's dream come true.

Record Sleeve has been carefully and conservatively graded VG+.  Overall this sleeve prevents beautifully; the colors are vibrant, the seams are without splitting, the sleeve lies flat without warping or leaning, and the corners are sharp.  The few cosmetic issues relevant to the discerning collector are some light general rubbing to the front and a small “ding” over the “S” in “STEREO,” some hints of bumping to the four corners, a minor hint of fraying to a small segment of the bottom seam, as well as to a small segment of the sleeve opening.  There is likewise some moisture staining, primarily noticeable on the back, though also affecting the top left corner on the front cover.  The moisture staining is the primary reason for the careful grading of VG+.

Vinyl Record is in EX+ / NM- condition overall!  Taking the record carefully from its sleeve reveals a beautiful, glossy vinyl worthy of any fine collection.  Some minor paper scuffing to both sides, some light spindle wear, and some statically charged particles of dust are the only noticeable blemishes.  We have placed this record into a new high quality protective inner sleeve, but the original is also included.  Likewise included is the original Westminster Record Company business reply card, a rare find in its own right!

Do not hesitate to add this incredibly rare album to your collection today!  The only other example of this masterpiece currently available anywhere in the world is priced at almost twice our asking price!

Please enjoy the photos for further item details and if you have any questions feel free to ask.  This item ships Worldwide and requires PayPal payment.  Fast payment insures prompt shipping.  Thank you and please enjoy our other listings!