The subject of several albums and immense acclaim.This live recording was produced by Bob Bollard at New Yorks famed Carnegie Hall and features material culled from two identical performances on April 19 and April 20, 1959. The question that needs asking is: Were this not such an astonishing recording, would it still hold interest?.The place of calypso in Belafontes career is perhaps clearer in this Carnegie Hall program than most others. First released in 'Living Stereo' way back in 1959, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall continues to captivate listeners, both audiophile and non. It wasnt the first live album ever made, but it was certainly the. Sampled from two consecutive performances of identical material, Belafonte at Carnegie Hall was an anomaly at a time when only comedy albums were recorded outside of the studio environment. The granddaddy of all live albums, this double-LP set captured the excitement of a Harry Belafonte concert at the height of his popularity.

Hit Collection (Volume 1) Harry Belafonte. The Harry Belafonte Edition (Volume 1) Harry Belafonte. Listening yet again to yet another vinyl reissue of this 55 year old recording and performance I have to conclude 'yes', but the 'you are (still) there' recording doesn't hurt!Harry belafonte - belafonte at carnegie hall the complete concert - sacd ibrido stereo e multicanale + cd - made in in vendita online su Musica & Video.Belafonte: At Carnegie Hall. The revered 19-track affair is divided into the three acts.

We ended up with a Bogen RP-60 receiver, a Garrard Type A turntable with Shure M3D cartridge and a pair of 12' Jensen Unax speakers stuffed into two, way too small wooden boxes from Cantor the Cabinet King on Cortlandt Street that weren't sealed or vented. Immediately I began lobbying my parents for a stereo to replace our monophonic Columbia '360 Sound' console.It took about a year. It was magical! Then the neighbor played Belafonte at Carnegie Hall. For the first time in my life I experienced from a record a 3 dimensional reverberant space. It was a blonde wood floor stander with a much smaller secondary speaker.First my neighbor played for this kid next door a demo record featuring screaming children in an indoor swimming pool. I remember my next door neighbor getting an RCA stereo console back in 1959.

His handsome, 'clean cut' looks, not to mention his erudition and proper diction made him 'acceptable' to a touchy white racist culture (in retrospect even the non-racists were, well, racist in their involuntary condescension).Today at age 87 he is more politically active than ever and quite outspoken. Belafonte brought 'world' music to the masses, starting with Calypso. Among the cognoscenti he's thought of more as an entertainer than as a serious artist but who creates these classifications and these many years later, who cares about such distinctions? Bob Dylan is both a serious artist and an entertainer.

No way! Unlike the original pressings mastered from 2 track mix downs from the 3 track original tape, Classic Records' reissue on both 33 1/3 and single-sided 45rpm records and this new mastering are sourced directly from the 3 track tape.If you already own the Classic version I'm not suggesting you need to buy this yet again. One can argue that originals are the best but not here. Even the arrangements that don't hold up well to time like 'Cotton Fields', which had been reworked and sanitized to remove every trace of bitterness, remain fascinating as time capsulesвЂ”especially side 4's nightclub version of 'Matilda'.Over the years the reproduction of the original records kept improving and with each improvement the experience drew closer to 'being there.' Over the years the mastering and pressing quality improved as well. The magic was locked into the magnetic recording tape and hearing it today, even after hearing it for decades, it remains a singular experience from which many listeners never tire. Holy shit! He didn't sing 'The Banana Boat Song' then but his interest in folk music grew and you know the rest, though did you know that his signature song 'Matilda' was recorded in 1953?By the time these two benefit concerts were performed on April 19th and 20th 1959, Belafonte had amassed a catalog of hits familiar to a wide swath of Americans and he had combined his singing and acting skills to create a masterful stage persona.The performances and the audience's reaction those two evenings were magical.

But set correctly, it all locks into place, tonally and spatially.So yes, had this been a crappy recording, the fascination with it among lovers of great sounding recordings might not be as widespread or intense, but it is among the greatest, if not the greatest live concert recordings ever made and Belafonte's and the orchestra's performances make it well-worth revisiting.At some point well after Bernie Grundman began cutting lacquers for Classic Records (among others), he updated his chain, greatly improving the sonics (just as we all over time improve our playback gear). Too loud and it will sound too bright and the reverb behind Belafonte's voice will be obscured. Even the cover art graphics have been stepped up a few notches.The key to sonic perfection is correctly setting the volume. Smith and the Sterling team have done just that, showcased by the utter black QRP backgrounds.The transparency, three-dimensionality, tonal and textural purity and especially the riveting image specificity, while always obvious on every version from the beginning, have never been this pronouncedвЂ”particularly the see-through transparency.

Smith is proving to be among the most talented cutting engineers out there. Likewise, Sterling Sound has improved its cutting chain in response to the uptick in business and whatever he's doing, young Ryan K. The improvements are easily audible, even at the slower speed. Compare for instance the Kenny Burrell 'Midnight Blue' he cut at 45 for Analogue Productions some years ago with the recent Music Matters one at 33 1/3 cut at Cohearent. Likewise, if you compare some of Kevin Gray's cuts at AcousTech with what he's doing now at his Cohearent facility, which has all new electronics and a complete re-cabling the sonic improvements are dramatic.

Harry Belafonte At Carnegie Hall