Customer Reviews

Victrola Favorites: Artifacts from Bygone Days

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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.

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

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.

I am fascinated by all music and recorded sounds, from a brand-new recording to the first recorded human voice of 1860. But I do listen with a critical ear, and I do appreciate the quality of the audio, packaging, and background information. Dust-to-Digital is in the forefront of all those aspects. So much for my background.

If you love world music, especially vintage world music, there is no doubt as to your loving this collection. None of the nattering nabobs of negativity speak of any aspect which over-rides the experience of listening to the wonderful music collected by Robert Millis and Jeffery Taylor.

Sure, it would be great if the hardcover book in which the discs are housed contained a well-researched essay and discography about these recordings, but it doesn't--probably because the primary and secondary source material for this information doesn't exist. What data that can be gleaned from the disc's label, or guesses at the data, are presented. The book is a visual collection of the disc labels, sleeves, and paper ephemera.

In reference to the few negative comments here, most all are personal opinions and should be left just as that. The only comment I wish to dispute (however minor) is that the discs are kept in place with a sticky substance (with concerns about the long-term archival effect). The "hub" which holds each disc in place on the inside boards of the hardcover book is not a "sticky substance" but is a piece of silicone. Silicone is a very stable substance that ought to do no damage to the disc in the long-term. In fact, this "hub" is supporting each disc in such as way that it is not touching any surface and is safer and more archival than an acid-free paper sleeve.

Basically, nothing matters but the music--and it is supremely enjoyable.

What a wonderful collection. I have a number of the cd-r's that this collections was culled from (and it was spread around on cassettes before that) and it's fantastic to see this beautiful music presented in such a gorgeous object. The music is out of this world and the accompanying book is a joy to flip through and marvel at. Glad that this stuff is now a bit easier to find for anyone interested.

I went into this with high hopes, although I guess I did know upfront that there was not enough material here to make this worth the price. Indeed, what is here is good, but painfully limited, and the elaborate presentation does not effectively facilitate a comprehensive journey through the songs.

There are vast archives of Victrola stuff; I know this because my grandparents had a Victrola player and I recall each thick platter to present a new odyssey. The technology may have been primitive back then, but the material encapsulated in those discs was astonishing. The sampling here is pretty good, but I think we needed something like eight or twelve discs. Since the material is out of copyright, the additional cost would have been negligible, or so I presume. (Proper Records of the UK does amazing box sets from the same era for about $20.)

The book here is handsome and well made. But the pictures are not identified in a convenient way to correspond with the songs. All the identifying information is in the back. I presume the photos are from the albums actually used in the set. I would have arranged them in the same sequence as the songs, with the song name superimposed over the picture in the lower corner. Instead, you have to go through a cross-referencing effort to know exactly what you're looking at, and what the song is and where and when it originated. Finally, the discs fit into the cover, but there is this rubber-like material that holds the disc and it is extremely hard to get the disc to hold, and then likewise hard to get it out again.

The folks who produced this obviously engaged in a labor of love, and to them I extend my compliments and my thanks for their efforts. But I encourage them, and anyone else producing the media products I buy, to remember functionality should be a paramount concern in packaging: ease of access to the discs; efficient storage volume; excellent documentation; great value; great material. Here we get a limited sampling of great material, but not much beyond that. In short, they lost sight of the principle of function preceding form.

A great, nicely packaged set of tunes from the dawn of recorded music. It includes music from all over the world that you probably never even knew existed. Buy it!