I hear the brightness on some titles, but not others. Interestingly, unlike many of Decca’s classical releases, Phase 4 records were all mastered in England. Compare identical records in different pressings made before and after the switch and you can clearly hear the difference.Ĭollectors will tell you that the American versions of Phase 4 records, released on the London Records imprint, are brighter sounding than the Decca originals. When the company switched to solid-state electronics in the mid to late 60s, the gain in precision was offset by a loss of the natural quality which tubed electronics brought to the recording chain. Early Decca records were mastered using an all-tube chain of electronics which added an organic warmth to the sound, a palpability to the instruments and voices. Record collectors are obsessive types, and can talk for hours about the relative merits of different pressings of the same record from different eras and countries. Mission Impossible (Roland Shaw and his Orchestra):Ĭover art featured eye-popping visual design There was a palpable excitement in the grooves, as you can hear in this arrangement of the Mission Impossible Theme of Lalo Schifrin by Roland Shaw. What was different about the “Phase 4” recordings was that, even though they were multi-miked and artificially balanced, deliberately incorporating the idea of “stereo cool” into their marketing, they retained that sense of “aliveness”. The result, over succeeding decades, was a sound which, while more refined, with each instrument carefully placed and balanced against every other instrument, lost some of its energy and sense of “aliveness”. With the advent of multitrack recording in the 60s, more microphones crept into recording sessions, and the increasing tendency was for the producer and engineer to fine-tune the balance of the orchestra long after the session, rather than have the conductor do so as the recording took place. The singers moved between marked-out squares on the stage to create a realistic “theatrical” space for the action. Recording Wagner’s Ring cycle in the Sofiensaal, Vienna. On a good stereo, the vinyl practically catches fire, filling the room with three-dimensional sound. A blistering sax solo unfurls against rhythm guitar, then it’s back to those strings and fat horns punching up that 60s glam. The brass kicks it up a notch, and then that propulsive, MASSIVE bass guitar anchors the groove while the strings punch out the theme like they are on a combination of speed and caviar. Just listen to the way those opening mega drums propel us forward (the drumming on all Phase 4 records is fantastic – was it the same guy, and if so, who was he?). The track that really blew my ears back was I Spy. The music flew out of the grooves, sexy and sassy, with gigantic drums and bass guitar, tight brass licks, and kinetic strings. It featured all the accoutrements of the gentleman spy or world adventurer, guaranteed to pique the interest of a kid who was already devouring James Bond’s adventures on the page and screen at every possible opportunity.Īll the music was compelling, from Leonard Bernstein’s jazz-inflected On the Waterfront to Miklos Rozsa’s lurid Hollywood fantasmagoria, Spellbound, but the tracks that most caught my schoolboy imagination were those by Roland Shaw, of themes from spy movies. The cover was the first thing to catch my attention. Leafing through the record bins I happened upon a collection titled The Phase 4 World of Thrillers. I’ve had a number of these, but one of the first happened when I was around 12. A moment when they happened upon a new record of unfamiliar music that, for whatever reason, was a revelation, and subsequently became a firm favorite, a cornerstone of their collection. James Bond Theme (Roland Shaw and his Orchestra):Īnyone who collects records has the story of a Eureka moment. I was unable to correct those errors, so it was just easier to republish the post with everything reinstated. (PLEASE NOTE: This post was originally published in 2014, but that version developed some problems including missing text, photos, audio etc.
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