wjm@whuxj.UUCP (MITCHELL) (05/17/84)
<munch, munch, munch> One way to save money and not get totally burned is to buy reissues from major record companies (e.g. London's Stereo Treasury & Richmond, EMI/Angel's Seraphim, and CBS's Odessey). Generally these are older recordings that were made for the full price label by "big-name" performers but which have (in the record companies' infinite wisdom :-) ) been "surpassed" by newer recordings. The recording quality *may* not be as good, some may be in mono, but the performance quality is on par with (and in some cases, superior to the newer recordings). Another budget label that generally provides a good product (although with lesser-known orchestras) is Nonesuch (although many of their new releases are full price digital recordings). Bill Mitchell Bell Communications Research, Inc. (whuxj!wjm)
mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (05/18/84)
[Urp]
Another source of budget classical recordings is the Musical Heritage
Society. This is a sort of not-for-profit record club which reissues
foreign recordings as well as some of its own. The current price for
a single disk is $4.95 (digital recordings available also). They also
sell cassettes, but the selection is nowhere as good.
My experience with MHS has been fairly good. They have been VERY cooperative
when I've returned things I didn't like. For those of you who seek the
strangenesses of life :-> the "reviews" of new releases by one David Greene
which you recieve every few weeks are RATHER odd. One I saw a few months
ago was almost entirely written in limericks! <-:
For those of you who like early music, they have an extensive collection of
prebaroque, as well as some real oddities (anybody for a record of
hurdy-gurdy music (no :-)) ?).
The best way to join/find out more? Look for the inevitable ad in the back
of Scientific American, Smithsonian, or numerous other magazines. (The $1
record changes all the time if you don't like what the current add offers.)
-----------------
Mangoe Fireeater <C Wingate> { Somewhere at umcp-cs }
rfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (05/19/84)
$1 record you can just send in the application <without> the $1,
tell them to skip the record and enroll you. They'll do it. Expect
a BOMC-like flyer every 3 weeks or so. Prices just went up without
any warning or announcement to $5.45 ("Digital" recordings $7.95)
plus applicable sales tax and $2.25 handling charge (per order).
Cassettes are same price as records (Chrome="Digital").
You don't have to "belong" to MHS to buy the records. They advertise
prices to non-members as $8.50 and $9.95 . Some of their recordings
are very good, some are terrible, most are so-so. They sell their
catalog (~3000 titles) for $2. the 1984 catalog is just out.
hound!rfgrfg@hound.UUCP (R.GRANTGES) (05/19/84)
[] Does the line eater still exist on hound!? Previous article first line should have read: If you don't want the $1 record... hound!rfg
andrew@inmet.UUCP (05/21/84)
#R:hound:-49200:inmet:23400005:000:560
inmet!andrew May 20 17:36:00 1984
I've been a member of MHS for about three years and have generally been
satisfied. No hassles about returning records (even when due to my own
failure to return the "negative option" card promptly). A lot of the works
are not available on any other recordings.
However, one warning: The quality of their older recordings leaves a lot
to be desired (although the newer ones are passable-to-good). The
performances, mostly by unknowns, also vary in quality but less drastically.
Andrew W. Rogers, Intermetrics ...{harpo|ihnp4|ima|esquire}!inmet!andrewcrs@lanl-a.UUCP (05/22/84)
Remember that this is a record club. With the normal arrangement, you must return a reply card by a certain date to *prevent* shipment of the periodic selection. It *is* possible, however, to request the alternate mode (I don't recall what it is called) where records/cassettes are sent only on explicit order. You still get the periodic booklet; in fact everything else is the same. Charlie