Album Reviews

Long considered to be one of the best sounding RCA “Living Stereo” recordings, this Classic Records 45rpm single sided edition takes getting it into your home to new extremes. The flat “other side” means better disc to platter coupling, as does the Quiex SV-P 200 profile, which gives your platter no lip. At 45rpm, the wavelengths get elongated and thus are easier to track-especially at the inner groove area as the spiral gets tighter and tighter.

As for the music-I knew you'd want me to get to that- if you don't like ballet music, this set won't make you a convert, especially because, according to my ballet-loving friends, these aren't the most inspired performances of these works-not that they are poorly performed by such an acclaimed orchestra under the baton of Mr. Ansermet.

Excerpts are from “The Nutcracker,” (which everyone knows), “Swan Lake,” (almost everyone knows) and “Sleeping Beauty” to “Coppélia” and “Les Sylphides”

You don't have to be a ballet aficionado to hear that the excerpts from “Swan Lake” lack passion and are taken at an overly deliberate, even lethargic pace.

That said, the sound is glorious. I haven't heard an original pressing. In fact, I've never even seen one. That's how rare they are so why bother comparing? In some ways, because of the physics involved, this 45rpm edition must be better than the original, so it's at least a trade-off.

What you'll hear is a lushly populated soundstage-a reasonably deep and impossibly wide one, given the somewhat distant mike placement-filled with delicate, sweet almost ethereal images. Instrumental transparency and palpability is breathtaking. It's one of those recordings that brings the players back to life-especially heard all-analog. The strings hover life-like at the front of the stage. You can hear the rear stage wall affect the acoustic when the winds enter.

If your system has full bottom end weight, you'll both hear the hall (and some outside traffic and perhaps a subway train or two) and feel its size. And you'll hear how the recording team used the hall's reverberant field to reinforce the orchestra's dynamics and bottom end weight.

It all comes together to produce one of those magical recorded experiences that lets you suspend disbelief with ease. As a natural sonic spectacular and test of your system's transparency and (ugh I hate the word) “musicality” (but it's the best word for the job) this set can't be beat. The price is steep and you'll be getting up to change sides every few minutes, so consider the far less expensive double 33 1/3 LP set. It won't sound quite as good, but it will sound plenty good. If you need the 100% experience shell out the big bucks for the box.

My copy had some “dishing” issues and a few sides that were noisy. When you “push the envelope” you ask for trouble. That's what customer service is all about. In my experience the sound quality makes the potential hassles worthwhile, but not everyone agrees.

When you drop the stylus down on side 1 and “March” from “The Nutcracker” begins, you'll immediately know you made the right choice. When the strings sweep across your room, you'll smell flowers.