Various Artists - A Journey Into Stereo Sound

An very early Stereo sampler production, this Decca reissue relives the excitement of the early days of channel separation. In the words of the original liner notes, "this is stereophonic sound – sound sculptured in space. It is here to be captured by the listener in a manner which is only otherwise possible in the concert hall. Let there be no mistake, a new and very exciting era has dawned in the long and wonderful history of the Gramophone."

1. Train Sequence

2. From Espana (Chabrier)

3. Beginners please (dance rehearsal sequence)

4. Under the Bridges of Paris

5. Rehearsal Sequence

6. From the Rite of Spring

7. From 'Die Walkure'

8. Racing Cars at Goodwood

9. True Love

10. Ceremony of the Keys

11. From Capriccio Espagnol

12. O Divine Redeemer

13. There's Only One of You

14. Another Time, Another Place

15. June is Bustin' Out All Over

16. From Concerto in B flat Major

17. Portrait Painter of Paree

18. From Symphonie Fatastique

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 1 person(s) rated this product.

A Blessing For Equipment Auditioning posted on 03/20/2007 5 Stars Reviewer: Andrew Maher Aspects of this disc are a bit cheesy. It is the one where the narrator says "ping" in one channel, and "pong" in the other. It opens with a steam train running between the speakers, contains the Ceremony of the Keys from The Tower of London, and car racing. There are also several musical excerpts such as Decca/London's famous "Espana" recording that are still used by some equipment reviewers to try out new gear, Solti's 1958 recording of Act III of "Die Walkure" gives us a taste of grand opera, and there is a brief sequence of Ernest Ansermet rehearsing "The Rite of Spring". The popular music of 1958 is probably a bit dated, but the virtue of the disc is that it does provide a series of different musical styles that allow listeners to try out their gear without having to swap records frequently. The recording quality is remarkably good. The pressing had a couple of minor extraneous noises, but was otherwise very silent. Take this with you when audtioning a new turntable.

Write a review and let people know what you think of this product OR just rate it.