MERRYCHRISTMAS, world!
I was really, really underwhelmed with the "Tom Lehrer Rarities" disc I did a while back, and I badly wanted to re-do it. It was a quickie project...and then over the next couple of years, as new stuff was unearthed, and other, unknown stuff appeared from various sources, it became a desperate, 
singular mission of utmost importance! 
singular mission of utmost importance! 
So then, here's what happened. I have assembled every scrap of TL goodness that's "out there" and remastered it...every track has been boosted, run through filters of various kinds, and overhauled in some way. In short, the one disc of rare goodness is now THREE discs of unbelievable happiness!
Does this mean everything sounds excellent? Of course not! Given what shape many of these recordings were in (I mean, somebody set up a reel-to-reel recorder in a corner of an auditorium in 1951 to capture "The Physical Revue," after all!), miracles can't be worked on some of these...but in the case of "Revue," I can now understand the words more clearly, so it's 
a huge improvement! (And the first 25 seconds or so still has tape damage of the magnetic kind, so nothing could be done about that!) Everything has been re-sourced and cleaned up, and even speed-corrected where needed. (There was one Frost track that was waaaay too fast, for example). Anyhow, there's nothing else like this on the entirity of the Internets, and thanks to everyone who made this possible! Therefore, if anything, let this be three things:
1) A not-for-sale tribute to the man himself,
2) A way to have every TL recording possible, [if you own the 2000 "Remains" boxe
d set AND the two out-of-print LPs "Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia" and the 1966 stereo remake LP "Songs by 
Tom Lehrer" you have it "all"] and, finally,
d set AND the two out-of-print LPs "Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia" and the 1966 stereo remake LP "Songs by 
Tom Lehrer" you have it "all"] and, finally,
3) A Christmas gift to the world!
So is there more out there? Of course! (A future post will discuss this.) But rest assured that if it ever surfaces, it will be added in the future!
Not-Too-Shabby Artwork (made for clear jewel-cases with snazzy inlays!) is included in each archive!
Stay demented, folks.
LINKS!Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Please see other posts on this very blog for VOLUME FOUR and VOLUME FIVE, and more!
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ReplyDeleteThe 1990s interview you have on Rarities 3 is taken from a BBC show called Self-Biopic. It's 56 minutes of Lehrer taking and playi8ng reocrds, and is a marvellous show.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thanks for posting these and especially Discovers Australia. Wonderful stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grammarian--I just sent you an email that I hope you got! If not, drop me a line at samtheq@juno.com when you get a chance! I'm always looking for material for RARITIES REVISITED VOLUME 4, and I've even already started it!
ReplyDeleteI talked to Lehrer on the phone once, it was an interesting experience I will never forget! Thank you for putting this together! It's high time someone did this! If you can locate the promotional track of "Trees" that was omitted from "The Remains Of Tom Lehrer" box, or the remainder of the interview of which "The Subway Song" comes from, you'll be doing a lot of eager fans a great service. After the "Physical Revue Tapes" and the "Dodge Promo Video" those have to be the last Holy Grails to be uncovered!
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ReplyDeleteI noticed a nasty whistle on some of the later tracks on this rarities vol 1 - which I can remove should you wish. I'd prefer to work on any uncompressed files you might have if you would like me to...
ReplyDeletethanks
Lozzy
Absolutely--but unfortunately, a hard drive crash took away the lossless files for that project. It taught me to backup my backup. Thanks for anything you can do!
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered your wonderful bliog. Very many thanks indeed for all your goodies! Best wishes, Paul
ReplyDelete