Microtonal Youth

In the late 70s my rugged good looks and corruptible charm got me hired by two confirmed bachelors who ran and worked the machines of Europadisk out of three rooms in Hell's Kitchen in Manhattan. With equipment imported by another confirmed bachelor who had been a member of the Vienna Boys Choir before his family fled the Nazis in 1939, Europadisk brought German technology and precision to record stamper manufacturing in the US. Since premium prices applied, most of the work came from audiophile and specialty labels like Artists House along with a few big stars like Neil Young from the majors. One day I heard unearthly sounds from the owner's quality control listening station that were not in this case Ornette Coleman. The guilty party turned out to be a New Jersey one-stop that would make a concert recording of your school's orchestra in your auditorium and deliver you a finished fundraising LP pressed and packaged. Why such a modest operation had chosen Europadisk was unclear. Portsmouth Sinfonia is an easy reference for these field recordings, since English intellectuals struggling to control the unfamiliar instruments in their hands sound pretty much like Garden State middle school kids doing the same. Instead of Portsmouth's classical warhorses, the local repertoire mixes The Beatles and Barbra Streisand with old favorites like Leroy Anderson's Syncopated Clock (ubiquitous Afternoon Movie theme in ages past) alongside unfamiliar* tunes, perhaps band director originals, played and received with great enthusiasm. I ended up taking home around twenty of the label's one-sided lacquers that were due to be tossed and this is the stuff I saved on a cassette.

01 This Is It!*

02 Whistle While You Work

03 Elephants*

04 Hall Of Horn*

05 Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001: A Space Odyssey)

06 White Christmas

07 Beatle Expo '79 

08 Caravan

09 Evergreen (Love Theme From A Star Is Born)

10 The Syncopated Clock

11 Jellybean Sunday*

12 More (Theme From Mondo Cane)

13 Earth Man Discotheque*

This Is It!