After Martin Denny, it was "Persuasive Percussion"

[emaidel]

Continuing in the vein of posting threads on ancient history, I thought the next logical record to discuss, following those of Martin Denny, would be the 1959 classic Command recording, Persuasive Percussion.

Enoch Light owned Command Records, and his first release, Persuasive Percussion, launched the label with what was then the best recorded album - ever. Not only was the music pleasant enough, but the recorded sound was so far superior to that of just about anything else available at the time, that people were amazed that their systems could sound that much better when listening to this record. Touted also as a "test" record, each of the song beginnings on all of the record's tracks starts off with a "ping-pong" switching from left to right, not for the sake of gee-whiz stereo, but for the purpose of making certain one's system was properly balanced. The double-album jacket was loaded with liner notes informing the listening as to what he should be listening to specifically on each track.

Over the years, I accumulated about 45 or so Command records, all of which I threw away (along with my mono Martin Denny albums) when I moved from NY to Denver, CO in 1993. Most of the music on Command became repetitious and dull, but I did keep Persuasive Percussion. Even today, despite the rather hokey musical arrangements, it's a sonic stunner.

One aspect many don't remember is that the record was pirated, with thousands of bogus copies sold before Enoch Light took legal action and stopped the pirating. I don't recall that ever happening to another record, and such pirating gives Persuasive Percussion a very unique note of distinction.

[Ed_in_Tx]

I have a few of the Command records, will have to pull those out and see which ones I have.

You got me thinking, (and Quiet Village playing in my head all day) so I stopped by Good Will and Salvation Army yesterday, looking for Martin Denny albums. None found. I will be on the lookout! Also need to find a nice clean copy of Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 first LP.

[Troy]

I have a stack of these. Buncha Command stuff and other titles/labels like "Provocative Percussion", "Pervasive Percussion" and "Perverted Percussion." Enoch Light was the band leader on many Command titles too. Some of that stuff really rocks, and all of it makes me smile. Yes, the Command discs weighed a ton and sounded great.

Starting in the early 90s I went a 7 or 8 year vinyl binge, buying up about 4000 LPs at flea markets, garage stores and thrift stores. Mostly for the cover art. Never paid more than a buck.

I stopped when the good stuff got hard to find. Seeing Denny in playable condition in a thrift store is highly doubtful in 2009. 99% of it is 70s and 80s rock. Been there, done that.

Some of my collection:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostamerica/sets/72157594204123124/

[emaidel]

Also need to find a nice clean copy of Sergio Mendes & Brazil 66 first LP.

Ahhh! Brasil '66! One of my all time favorite vocal groups. I always thought the voices of the women, Lani Hall in particular, were very sumptuous and sexy. Lani Hall ultimately became Mrs. Herb Alpert, the original owner of A&M records.

The first of their albums, "Brasil '66" hooked me immediately, and also became a severe test of how well, or poorly, a phono cartridge handled sibilance. At the time, I was using mid-level Pickering cartridges primarily, none of which were ever able to handle the "S" sounds of the singers without severe sibilance, but the Shure V/15 Type II played the record with ease. I feel a bit proud that I used this record for a sibilance test long before Shure themselves used it on their test record that one could get for free with the purchase of the V/15 Type III. No Stanton model until the 681EEE could handle the sibilance, nor any Pickering until the XSV-3000. .

I have most of the Brasil '66 albums (save "Equinox"), but purchased a CD compilation a few years ago that seems to have most of their hits - "The Sergio Medes and Brasil '66 Foursider."

[Ed_in_Tx]

The first of their albums, "Brasil '66" hooked me immediately, and also became a severe test of how well, or poorly, a phono cartridge handled sibilance. At the time, I was using mid-level Pickering cartridges primarily, none of which were ever able to handle the "S" sounds of the singers without severe sibilance, but the Shure V/15 Type II played the record with ease. I feel a bit proud that I used this record for a sibilance test long before Shure themselves used it on their test record that one could get for free with the purchase of the V/15 Type III. No Stanton model until the 681EEE could handle the sibilance, nor any Pickering until the XSV-3000. .


Very interesting to hear that especially from an ex-Pickering & Stanton guy! In 1967 I was 16 and worked 6 weeks that summer sorting pop bottles among other tasks at a grocery store to buy a Garrard Lab 80 and a Pickering AME-1 cartridge at the local Radio Shack ( plus a new set of "Lifetime" 7868s for my Sherwood S-5000 II amplifier). I played that combination until I obtained a smooth body Shure V-15 type II from a friend in late '68 with an open coil in one channel, and Shure sent me a replacement. The rest was history for Pickering until 11 years passed and I picked up a Stanton 881S after reading the reviews and looking for something different. One of my "test" records was a Country Joe and the Fish album "Electric Music For The Mind and Body" on Vanguard Records, specifically track 3 side 1 "Death Sound Blues" with a very loud, hot tambourine at the beginning and through the song. I discovered what it was supposed to sound like with the Shure. It wasn't a paper sack with gravel in it being shaken after all! And I started noticing how clear sibilant sounds were; clear, clean, no distortion. Another "test" record was Sergio Mendes "Look Around" which is the last song on side 2, inner groove sibilance distortion big-time, but not with the V 15-II. I often wondered if the folks at Pickering were aware of the shortcomings and why it was like that. My audio sales friend who pushed Pickerings refused to give in. He had a great system in his home, a Citation pre- and power amp and a pair of EV Patician 800s. The type of music he played really didn't show the sibilance problems. He preferred the brighter sound of the Pickerings over the "dull" Shure. Years later one of the last times I talked to Dean he asked what kind of cartridge I was using and said Stanton 881S and he said "well that's a basically calibrated Pickering 3000, glad you finally came around"! When they finally fixed the sibilance distortion problems yes I came around. I do have a Shure II "Improved", a III with the original elliptical stylus, and a V15-Vmr. I have the II, III, IV, and V test records. HAD a type IV but sold it with a turntable. About 7 or 8 years ago I bought a Stanton 681EEE MkIII and the sibilance distortion is noticeable with it. Too bad. Seems to have taken a step backward. I didn't know about the non-stereohedron stylus until I bought it.

[emaidel]

Until 1976, when Pickering introduced the XSV-3000, neither Pickering nor Stanton paid much attention to the details, such as sibilance problems, that Shure attacked and solved in their cartridge designs. Pickering used such silliness as "Delivers 100% Music Power" in its ads, and Stantons were "The Choice of the Professionals," because more radio stations used Stantons than any other cartridge. No one ever knew just what made either "work," as to reveal any technical details was "giving away trade secrets."

While the XSV-3000 incorporated design elements from the quad era (and the XUV/4500Q, in particular), ads for it still referred to it being "The Source of Perfection in Sound," rather than touting just why it worked as well as it did.

Still, to the credit of both companies, Pickering and Stanton cartridges sounded very musical, despite a few shortcomings, and were quite rugged and reliable. In my 14 years working at Lafayette Radio, I, and everyone else, sold Pickering cartrdiges almost exclusively over Shure or Empire models simply because we knew they wouldn't break as easily. Many customers returned Shure M-91ED's because "they broke," while I can't ever recall a retured Pickering cartridge.

I guess it was a matter of priority, and as Lafayette was Pickering's largest customer by a considerable margin, ruggedness and reliability took precedence over better fidelity.