Topic: Paramount Box set volume two

[Fkeller]

I got mine today and I couldn't be happier.  I'll post my very quick little review/synopsis which I posted on another forum.  Ultimately, whether it's worth it to you to buy this is a very subjective and arguable point.  I do believe that what you get for $400 (as pointed out earlier, $.50 per re-mastered song) makes it a good value IF you have this kind of disposable income. 

(posted to Mandolin Cafe earlier today)

Just got Volume 2 today--it was my 50th B'day present and was late due to manufacturer issues. I tell you what, it's awesome. It's not NECESSARY, but it's awesome.

Comes in a sleek, metal Art-Deco style case that looks like a portable phonograph. It has a bunch of LP's with a selection of the music on it. A big, hardback, nearly coffee-table-sized book the first half of which contains essays about Paramount, a few of its artists, the context for the music, and other pithy, interesting observations. The second half are reproductions of advertising flyers, sales brochures, record labels and all sorts of other ephemera.

The other book, oversized catalog-style paperback, contains comments, facts, histories, recording data on all the artists. There is a USB stick at the bottom, the case for which looks like a very sleek hood ornament .

The USB has all the music: 800 tracks, all re-mastered by Grammy-award-winning Airshow Mastering. You can access the mp3's directly or you can use the nifty proprietary web interface that allows you to create your own playlists, listen to a random "radio" show, or listen to pre-selected playlists (for example, there is a playlist for each LP if you don't have or want to bother with a turntable).

Sound quality will never be great on these old tracks. Paramount used the cheapest gear and the cheapest materials to make their records. But the re-mastering is welcome and obvious.

I think it's a marvelous showcase of this material. Whether or not it's "worth" $400 is completely up to you, your budget, and your tastes, but there's 40 CD's worth of music on this set (not just blues either) and at $15 a CD, that's $600. I don't see that as a bad value even if you choose to pass for whatever very valid reason you might choose.

That's my thumbnail sketch at any rate. I'm lucky; I have no kids and more disposable income for this kind of thing. I'm pleased as all get-out to own this nifty little beauty. Back to listenin'...

[harriet]

FKeller the box it comes in is an aluminum replication of an RCA phonograph - I got that from the link that Stuart posted - the third one.  Here's a link to the info about it. Happy Birthday:

RCA Special Model K Portable Electirc Phonograph

[Pan]

Happy Birthday, Fkeller!

Cheers

Pan

[Stuart]

Happy Birthday--may the next 50 years be as good as--if not better than--your first 50. --And thanks for the review. Enjoy!

[jopoke]

The first set has cycled through a local music store multiple times. Folks buy it,
copy the USB drive, and sell it back. It was interesting to see how the buyers only wanted the music and didn't care about the odds and ends included in the packaging.

[Fkeller]

Thanks for the birthday wishes!  It was back in Nov. but the set didn't ship til late last week  

Fred

[hms]

Just to close this, I have found JSP records have a boxset, Paramount masters 100 tracks over 4 cd boxset, around ?15.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paramount-Masters-Various-Artists/dp/B0001LGVYW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420041823&sr=8-1&keywords=paramount+masters

If you scroll down, you will find a tracklist for the CD's

Oddly enough, their PO box is located about half a mile from me!

H

[wreid75]

"Oddly enough, their PO box is located about half a mile from me!"

And now we all know how to find you

[hms]

Half mile is quite a large radius!
Is that weird75 or wreid75?
H

[Johnm]

Hi hms,
The JSP Paramount set is a fine one, and as you noted, the price is certainly right.  If that set is still available, you can't go wrong with it.
All best,
Johnm

[hms]

Yes, slowly working my way through it.
H

[wreid75]

Is that weird75 or wreid75?

touch?

[Willie Poor Boy]

These things are really neat don't get me wrong but if there are 1600 songs total in the two sets, at 3 minutes a song, that would be roughly 80 hours of music to sift through.  That is like a two week full time job at the end of which you will have listened to each song only once--which is hardly enough to really appreciate any of it much less lets the tracks best suited to your tastes assert themselves.

Having the entire catalogue would allow one to experience a wide swath of popular music without filters but there is a lot to be said for curated disks.  Yazoo, Dust to Digital, Revenant's American Primitive offerings, and greatest of all: Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music--I've had more enjoyment listening to those mere selections than to listening to hours of aggregated disks, even when they are "Complete Recorded Works: 1928 - 1933, Volumes 1 through 5" of absolute favorite players.

As far as the price of the Paramount sets, if there is such a thing as the "Air Show Remasters" then this limited pressing won't be the last time they are made available.  It is probably like high end electronics--it is prohibitively expensive until enough bleeding edge adopters have bought in and then companies can afford to sell the next generation of their product for less.  A no frills version is just a matter of annoying patience. 

[Gilgamesh]

5000 copies is considered "limited"?

$400 for a USB drive and some extras does not seem very enticing to me. There is no way that these things will hold their value in the future.

[wreid75]

There is already a black market.  I know that flash drives with the music is already available from both sets with high quality reproductions of all of the stuff minus the LPs and box for 50 bucks in Asheville NC.  The same reproductions are going to be in Boston, Atlanta, Memphis, and New Orleans this weekend.  Not saying that this is right but it is what it is.  Just like there is a black market for cigarettes here in the United States that are cheaper than what the stores sell and moonshine has always been available.  When ever something is priced too high an alternative presents itself.