Review by Ivymike June 14, 2006 (7 of 7 found this review helpful)
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Virgil Fox was one of the quirkiest musicians around: flamboyant, dramatic, and always succeeding in getting under the skin of musical purists, particularly in his interpretations of the organ music of Bach. The selections on this disc are representative of his great personality . This SACD also contains one track, Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March #4," that for some reason went unedited for the original LP release. (That original Shaded Dog, by the way, sounds completely emasculated, with all the low bass equalized out in an attempt, I suppose, to spare the cartridges of the day the horror of tracking such heavy modulation.)
Now on to the sound. The recording was made in Riverside Church, New York in the last week of January, 1958. John Crawford engineered the recording, which was taped on Ampex 3-track, half-inch equipment. Tape hiss is moderate in level and will be noticeable during p and pp passages. All manner of rumble, traffic noise, blower and coupler noise can be made out as well but none is terribly distracting. The imaging is pretty left-right specific, a bit like early "ping-pong" stereo in fact; the center channel doesn't do very much in this recording but when it does it does so with authority. The dynamic range is impressive; Fox had a tendency to push whatever recording set-up he was dealing with to its limits and the Echo and Swell organs are used to excellent effect. Low bass seems somewhat more subdued here than on the original, 1993 Red Book CD but it is still impressive; witness the shirt-flapping rumble of the 32-foot stops on tracks 5, 8, and 9.
Should you replace your original, 1993 Red Book CD? I would say yes; the sound is a bit more refined here and besides, you get a track that's gond unheard since 1958!
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