Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 22, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Dust To Digital
• ASIN: B00127ITF8
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #122,826 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Bololo O Kolilo (Groupo de Totoko Francois)

2. The Crow Flies Back to the Forest (Guangzhou Cantonese Opera Troupe)

3. Mes Tis Polis Ta Stena (Stella Haskil)

4. Balada Do Encantamento (Dr. Edmundo Bettencourt)

5. Shenai (Bismillah Khan and Party)

6. The Basement Blues (Noble Sissle and His Orchestra)

7. Step It Up and Go (Blind Boy Fuller)

8. Shin Shin Tankoubushi (Yukie Kubo)

9. O! Molly Dear Go Ask Your Mother (Kelly Harrell)

10. Big Idiot Buys a Pig (He Zemin / Huang Peiying)

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Impressions of London (Stanley Roper)

2. The Crucifixion of Christ (Jessie May Hill)

3. Torre de Belem (Carlos Ramos)

4. The Farmer's Dream (Frank Ferera)

5. Shiokumi Kasatsukashi (Kachikuri Mimasuya)

6. Mahawin Maita Zad (Po Sein / Maung Sein Maita)

7. Shan Village (St. Gun Khin May)

8. Mahour Gazel-Adjir idin beni (Haffouz Jachar Bey)

9. Little Mo-hee (The Hall Brothers)

10. Two Liquorice Drops in Jail (Cook and Flemming)

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Recordings made between the 1920s-'50s compiled by Rob Millis and Jeffrey Taylor of the Seattle-based experimental band Climax Golden Twins from their collections of rare 78rpm records and design ephemera. Deluxe 144-page clothbound, full-color book with two CDs featuring Burmese guitars, Chinese opera, Persian folk songs, fado, hillbilly, jazz, blues and much, much more. Climax Golden Twins have designed gallery and museum installations, composed soundtracks (most notably the film Session Nine), worked on documentary films (Phi Ta Khon: Ghosts Of Isan released on Sublime Frequencies) and contributed soundscapes to NPR radio programs in addition to releasing numerous recordings on CD and LP, including a recent LP on the Sun City Girls' Abduction Records imprint entitled 5 Cents A Piece. Influenced by the Secret Museum of Mankind, Yazoo releases, Harry Smith's Anthology Of American Folk Music, as well as record labels like Sublime Frequencies, Ethnic Folkways and Ocora. Also inspired by art and design books such as those published by Chronicle. Sounds like vintage music from around the globe. Looks like a clothbound book printed on extremely fine museum quality wood-free paper and is meant as a visual manifestation of the sounds contained on the CDs. Hundreds of beautiful images of sleeves, photos, labels, needle tins and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a gem, March 8, 2008

By 

D. Kiley (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days (Audio CD)

by the description and reviews on this page it seems like it is a great buy but there was no way i was going to shell out $45 w/o hearing what was on it. so i googled it and found a site where you can preview each song. i was sold. i just got it and its perfect. you get what you pay for with this. a very sweet red book with cds and artwork inside. i think its wonderful and it would make a wonderful present to surprise somebody with (IF they appreciate this kind of vintage variety). listening to it now, i feel like im in a ship going around the world, its really nice.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect Valentine, February 13, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days (Audio CD)

My Valentine knows that my taste in most things is eclectic. Dust-to-Digital label has compiled several anthologies of early to mid-20th century music from around the world. The two-CD "Victrola Favorites" is a worthy addition to their prior offerings.

The 48 songs are geographically and stylistically diverse. Chanting from Chinese Buddhist nuns, West Indian jazz-calypso, early American jazz, folk and blues, a Thai costume drama, Japanese bamboo xylophones, and an "actual recording of Big Ben and traffic noises" are a few of the offerings.

The liner "notes" are contained in a cloth bound, full-color book of record label artwork, archival photographs, listening instructions, postcards, and other music ephemera. (I write "notes" because the images are the stars of this show; the text is relatively skimpy.)

If you like world music and ethnic sounds, this is a wonderful journey.

Robert C. Ross 2008

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some favourite favourites!, August 13, 2008

By 

Josh Z. Bonder "a sound painter" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days (Audio CD)

After exhausting the "Secret Museum of Mankind" The Secret Museum Of Mankind, Vol. 1: Ethnic Music Classics 1925-1948 and other assorted collections, my search for great vintage world music brought me to this double disc set. I was immediately impressed with the variety and quality of music contained herein, and would say that the tracks are easily on a par with the best vintage world collections I've heard. Moreover, the tracks are sequenced in a way which engages the listener and hints at the musical similarities which somehow transcended time and place. The digital transfers are very clean and clear, without feeling devoid of high end liveliness. Each song is a pleasure to listen to, and I don't think anyone with an interest in vintage world music could contest the quality of these tracks.

The packaging raises other issues, namely about what is essential and what is frivolous: The book could easily be considered frivolous, with very little information about the music itself and almost every page filled with the artwork and ephemera that adorned 78's and gramophone products. While these images are interesting and aesthetically pleasing, they do leave me wishing for a little more discographical information. However, the record company states that they were trying to achieve a certain feeling and experience, that of listening to and looking over these old records. Perhaps they should have set their sights a little higher, but they do accomplish their mission. There is also still some information, but it is limited to song and performer names and the year and place each record was made.

So is this collection a worthwhile investment? While the book leaves a few things to be desired, the music easily makes up for it and then some. If you have any interest in sacred, bizarre, profound, entertaining, or just plain good old world music, you won't be disappointed with this fine set. Highly recommended.