[ Post a Response | JIM REEVES FAN FORUM ]
Posted by Bill Marks.
on July 12, 2009, 12:00 pm
78.145.162.230
This message, whilst being typed by me, is in fact a message from me & David Bussey, that David as asked me to get printed in the Fan Forum. You see, David is not very computer literate, and the thought of trying to find Larry's web:site and go through the usual downloads to arrive at the Fan Forum filled David with dread. So please be aware that the following posting is not just mine.
"The above CD is most certainly a landmark release here in the U.K. and one which has stirred up & revitalised the Jim Reeves scene, so much so as to let us once again stick our chests out with pride and satisfaction for the important part we have played in Jim's music and legacy over the past 50 years. It is always difficult in today's varied and fragmented music scene to assess sales activity, due to the plethora of so called "charts" supposedly authenticating a releases success, but suffice to say, Jim Reeves reached No.1 in several specialist charts and was a certain top tenner in the mainstream music business charts here with the above Sony album.
Thomson's, one of the UK's largest travel & holiday firms, continues to use the television advert featuring Jim's "Welcome To My World" and all the major TV networks here have put out the advert for the Sony album promoted by the largest UK supermarket firms such as Asda, Tesco, and Morrison's. All this activity certainly seems to have done the trick in introducing Jim's music to a brand new generation of listeners & fans.
It seems ironic that Jim's recordings have moved from Macy to Abbott to RCA, to RCA-BMG, to BMG, to SONY-BMG and finally to just plain old SONY. I doubt few of the young music executives at Sony had ever heard of Jim Reeves until the advertising men at Thomson's wanted to lease "Welcome To My World" & it looks as if the rest might be history.
Congratulations to Sony on the success of their first Jim Reeves release. !!!!!
Few of the more mature or aged fans (including Larry himself) gave this CD a cat in hell's chance of doing anything. After all, we'd had all the "Best Of's", "Greatest Hits" "Definitives" etc, etc in abundance over the years and Larry was his usual vociferous self in accusing Sony of "taking the easy option". But he, along with many other Reeves authorities have had to eat humble pie. But that isn't quite the end of the story..............
It was assumed that the Sony release was just a carbon copy of the 1981 U.K. vinyl (and later CD)"The Very Best Of Jim Reeves " (ND89017). Conjecture was rife and David Bussey's help was called upon as his hi:fi can play 2 CD's simultaneously, enabling David to make obvious immediate sound recording comparisions. His findings proved without doubt that the Sony release is NOT the same as the 1981 issue. It features only 13 tracks from the original, plus 5 tracks culled from "The Very Best Of Jim Reeves vol 2" U.K. cd (ND90568) released in 1991. The final 2 tracks "Whispering Hope" & "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" were neither on vol 1 or 2.
RCA kept certain master tapes here in the U.K. but only locally produced albums & compilations. Having made a direct comparision between the Sony and RCA tracks, it was shown to David Bussey & Bill that at least a dozen tracks had the right and left stereo channels reversed. It was obvious that the old album masters had not been used. When comparing the Sony tracks to Bear family tracks, the channel alignment was the same. So, maybe Sony worked from Bear Family.? Certainly RCA-BMG had done that in the U.K. before. So what can we say quite categorically, is that the Sony album has used completely re-mastered tracks..... some remastered to absolute perfection!!!! It would be a brave man to predict use of original master tapes, but who knows?? We (David & Bill) prefer to think that they have produced new digital masters which are the finest recordings of Jim Reeves classics that you will ever hear. Just give a listen, using your headphones, to "He'll Have To Go", "Your The Only Good Thing" or "Adios Amigo" and tell me and David that we're only dreaming. Listening to "Adios Amigo" you can actually hear Jim exhale his breath. !!!!!
We never ever imagined that Jim's music could sound any better. Sony have proved us wrong. Whilst me & David have doubts about "Bimbo", "But You Love Me Daddy", "Whispering Hope" or "Have I told You lately That I Love You?" being labelled as "Very Best" certainly the rest of this CD has Jim's voice at it's Very Heavenly Best.
Those new listeners and fans are so very lucky. To Sony - please keep those re-masters coming!!!!."
Always for Jim & His fans.
Bill Marks.
Birmingham.
England.
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