Not sure if folks are aware but I have just received a new Jim Reeves CD in the post from Amazon that is a re-issue of the 2 overdubbed LP's from 1976 and 1978. This has been given the Sony seal of approvement too (unusual I know)! I would like to know your thoughts on these two LP's.
I liked these albums and never expected to see them released on CD. I'm glad they were though. I could never figure out why Jim's CD releases are so inconsistent. That series of double-album discs were released some years back, which was a good start, but then they never released anymore, which they should have. They were all good, except for the "He'll Have To Go" album, which was not the original album at all. I had read they were going to correct this mistake, but it never happened. Then once in a while, a CD like this latest one pops up. Whenever the labels release something good, they don't release anything after that for years. I just don't get it...
Yes that is a mystery! I would love to see the Gentleman Jim album out on CD which I consider among his finest work!
Talking about overdubs - I think one that RCA really should not have ever released is the overdub of the song 'I've lived a lot in my time'. They went quite badly out-of-sync. It must have been released in error?
On the Nashville '78 album I like the vocals on 'There's a heartache following me' and 'Missing Angel' were obvious alternate versions too. On 'heartache' he sings parts of the song in a completely different way than the way we are used to
Dave, the "Gentleman Jim" album was released on CD this past January. If you go to amazon.com, you will find it there for under 10 dollars from the private sellers.
As a historical curiosity the two overdub albums being released on CD might be something that some fans would like to acquire. But it's ironic that you posted this as I just ran across an email from a Jim Reeves fan who happened to comment that when he tells people about the Reeves overdubs that VoiceMasters has done, he always makes sure he points out to them that our approach is more restrained and not so heavy-handed as the RCA ones from years ago.
I thought that ironic considering the fact that Sony has released these old overdub LPs on CD. I believe the reason they did that is they have been shadowing our work on various fronts. That's not hyperbole -- that's a fact.
They weren't going to invest thousands of dollars doing NEW overdubs on Jim Reeves, because they don't regard him as a moneymaker. But you'll notice that after the CD "Elvis: The New Recordings" was released earlier this year -- with 26 new overdubs of Elvis tracks -- Sony decided to do their own and Priscilla Presley has suddenly developed a fondness for overdubs after 38 years and vows to do more.
Anyway, when producing overdubs for various projects i have deliberately taken a different approach than was used in the 1970s when RCA was overdubbing tracks. The early ones that Mary supervised were good. As she grew more distracted, she dumped the songs on Bud Logan, who in turn gave them to his brother Jack. There were of course limitations to what they could accomplish in the analog age, but even so, some of the RCA overdubs were truly dreadful, syrupy, over-produced, not clean.
I have some favorites, but they are not contained on the CD to which you refer.
I would challenge anyone anywhere in the world to listen to the overdubbing and sound quality we achieved on the 8 CD boxed set, "The Great Jim Reeves", which is better than you have ever heard Jim sound anywhere at any time -- unless you were in the audience at one of his concerts. A hugely talented team helped on this endeavor and we had one of the top mastering engineers in the nation doing all 8 CDs. Jim's voice has such presence -- it is crystalline yet warm -- it truly defies believability.
You should check this out as it is priced far below the more exalted boxed sets and is a fraction of the cost per song that you'd pay on iTunes. Plus there's a 48 page full color booklet inside.
Click the link below to hear audio samples and you'll see what I mean.
You're welcome, Dave! Glad to hear you have it already.I noticed they also released "Good 'N'Country" on CD, and there are other albums that were only released as Mp3's. I wonder why that is. I wish they were all released on CD.
For me the version on 'Songs of Love' is by far the best,the main reason is The Jordanaires didn't sing in a monotone/flat way,they were on harmonie only,I have nothing against them,I think they did some great work,just not when they 'sang' the bridge.
The main reason Jim's releases are so sporadic,and this may and a bit cynical,but I believe it is because RCA is still more concerned with releasing Elvis on CD than Jim.
What I can't understand why RCA released 'Good 'n' Country' with 'The International',surely it would have made more sense to have coupled 'Good 'n' Country' with 'The Country Side of...'.That just tells me that RCA release Jim's recordings with no real thought (or interest perhaps!),but they have always been 'short-sighted',not allowing Jim to record with Patsy Cline because she was on a different label,that was just Crazy!If they had recorded together they could have released the recordings on both RCA and Decca,recording half the songs at the RCA studios and half at Decca,then both companies could have released them and made money,and everyone would have been happy,they need to get someone with more 'vision'.
David, I agree with you that "Good 'N'Country" should have been released on one CD with "The Country Side Of Jim Reeves" instead of "The International Jim Reeves". No, RCA did not give this any thought, I'm sure. I also think that "Tall Tales and Short Tempers" would have paired better with "Talkin' To Your Heart". Anyway, "Good 'N' Country" was recently released on CD by itself. You mentioned the Jordanaires sounding better on '"this version" of some song, but didn't mention which song you were referring to. I'm assuming you meant "You Belong To Me" because they did sing the bridge on the original version of this one. I disagree with you on their performance here though. I think the Jordanaires ALWAYS sounded great, whether they sang back-up for Jim or Elvis or any other artist.
It is ONLY this one song I wished they had listened to,their backing vocals were to their usual high standard,it's just where they sang the bridge,they DO sound unusually 'flat',then they go back to the harmonies and are great once again!
on December 16, 2015, 5:23 pm