The Victor Red Discography, Volume II: Double-Sided Series to 1930 , and: The Victor Black Label Discography: 16000–17000 Series , and: The Victor Black Label Discography: 18000–19000 Series , and: The Victor Discography: Green, Blue and Purple Labels , and: The Edison Discography (1926–1929) (review)

Gary A. Galo

Notes, Volume 66, Number 3, March 2010, pp. 575-579 (Review)

Published by Music Library Association DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/not.0.0312

[ This contentFor additional has been information declared free about to read this byarticle the pubisher during the COVID-19 pandemic. ] https://muse.jhu.edu/article/376356 Book Reviews 575 posed right at the outset in the Tokita- tions; but with the considerable lean to- Hughes introductory chapter. wards the survey in many of its essays, it This is a research companion that works would be well placed too in undergraduate very well indeed, if one works hard with it; collections supporting performing-arts- it is a book for poring over, both with re- orientated Asian Studies programs, and in gard to its texts and its music examples; collections supporting (ethno)musicology and it rewards reading across its various programs with a focus on East Asia. A most chapters. It is an articulate, forward-looking welcome new friend! companion demanding interaction, but as- suming a certain amount of self-reliance in its partner. It goes without saying that it is Elizabeth Markham clearly essential for graduates in the field, University of Arkansas and accordingly for graduate library collec-

BIBLIOGRAPHY The Victor Red Seal Discography, Volume II: Double-Sided Series to 1930. By John R. Bolig. Highlands Ranch, CO: Mainspring Press, 2006. [xxvi, 604 p. ISBN 0977273555. $79.] Indexes. The Victor Black Label Discography: 16000–17000 Series. By John R. Bolig. Highlands Ranch, CO: Mainspring Press, 2007. [xxvi, 444 p. ISBN 9780977273577. $79.] Indexes. The Victor Black Label Discography: 18000–19000 Series. By John R. Bolig. Highlands Ranch, CO: Mainspring Press, 2008. [xxvi, 411 p. ISBN 9780977273591. $79.] Indexes. The Victor Discography: Green, Blue and Purple Labels. By John R. Bolig. Highlands Ranch, CO: Mainspring Press, 2006. [xv, 252 p. ISBN 0977272520. $55.] Indexes. The Edison Discography (1926–1929). By Raymond R. Wile. Highlands Ranch, CO: Mainspring Press, 2008. [xxvii, 442 p. ISBN 978-0-9772735-8- 4. $79.] Indexes.

Veteran discographer John R. Bolig con- continued to be issued only in single-faced tinues his series covering the early years of format until 1923. The single-sided record the Victor Talking Machine Company with had no technical advantages—this was four additional volumes. The Victor Red Seal partly snob appeal on Victor’s part though, Discography, Volume I covered single-sided as Bolig points out, royalty agreements with discs issued by Victor between 1903 and celebrity artists also played a role in adher- 1925 (reviewed in Notes 62, no. 2 [Decem - ing to single-faced records. ber 2005]: 407–10). 1923 was an important Bolig’s introduction covers the transition year for the Red Seal label. Although Victor to electrical recording, double-sided had begun issuing double-sided records as records and Eldridge Johnson’s sale of early as 1908, such releases were confined The Victor Talking Machine Company to a to the lower-priced labels, beginning with group of investment bankers who, within the ubiquitous Black Label discs, which two years, sold the company to RCA. In consisted almost entirely of various types of 1923 Victor finally succumbed and began popular and ethnic music. Releases on the issuing double-sided Red Seal records, in- prestigious Red Seal label, which were re- cluding reissues of much of their existing served for Victor’s premiere classical artists, single-faced catalog. For two years, Red Seal 576 Notes, March 2010 records were released in both formats, as Stokowski and a reduced Philadelphia single-faced discs bearing the old five-digit Orchestra between May and October of catalog numbers, and as double-faced discs 1925. The recording was made in the bearing three or four-digit numbers (there Trinity Church Studio in Camden, NJ, and were also a handful of reissues in the the records bear catalog numbers 6565 10,000 series). By 1925, with the arrival of through 6569. Like all of Victor’s early elec- electrical recording, the single-sided record trical recordings, the discs had acoustic- disappeared for good. Bolig’s introduction style “batwing” labels—only the letters “VE” also covers his methods for compiling the in the run-out space identified the record- discographic information, especially his ing as being electrical. The individual exhaustive research in the Sony/BMG records were bundled into an unnumbered Archive; terminology used in the book; and Music Arts Library . Victor remade an explanation of the various markings the recording in October 1927 with the full found on the records. Philadelphia Orchestra in their regular Bolig’s second Red Seal discography cov- venue, the Academy of Music. These discs ers the first seven years of double-sided were issued with “scroll” Orthophonic la- releases, from 1923 until 1930. Like its pre- bels and issued as album M-1 in the Musical decessor, this volume follows a strict nu- Masterpiece series. The individual records merical sequence by catalog number for were assigned the same catalog numbers as the listings. Each entry also gives the title, the 1925 version, a common Victor practice composer, artist(s), recording date and lo- for remakes. In addition to the 1927 re- cation, matrix and take number, and re- make, Bolig lists the 1925 original under lease date. If a record had also been issued “Album 1” in the Musical Masterpiece se- in single-faced format by Victor, the single- ries, which is not correct (pp. 485–86). faced catalog number is given. British and Michael Sherman made the same error, German releases are listed where known, identifying a label scan from the 1925 set though Bolig admits that identifying all for- as being from album M-1 (Michael W. eign catalog numbers is a work in progress. Sherman, The Collector’s Guide to Victor Victor releases from foreign masters are Records [Dallas Texas: Monarch Record also included; these comprised a significant Enterprises, 1992], 112). The two-page sec- portion of its catalog. Victor’s matrix num- tion III is devoted to the American Speech bers always begin with a letter prefix, “B” Series. Bolig has included three indexes, by for 10-inch sides and “C” for 12-inch. title, artist, and a coupling index by catalog Electrical recordings are easy to identify, number. since the prefix is followed by “VE.” The Victor Black Label Discographies encom- Bolig devotes section II of the book to pass four 5-digit series of catalog numbers “Records Released as Sets in ,” beginning with the first double-faced re- which is dominated by the Musical Master- leases in 1908 and ending with recordings piece series. One group of albums he does sessions in March 1926, early in the electri- not list in this section is the Music Arts cal era. All records in these series are 10- Library, a short-lived series of complete inch discs. The discographic entries cover classical works predating the Musical the same categories of information as those Masterpiece albums, though he mentions in the Red Seal discographies, with one ex- the Music Arts Library in the introduction. ception. In the Black Label listings Bolig Unlike the Musical Masterpiece series, provides both the release date and the date Victor did not assign numbers to the Music of withdrawal (the Red Seal listings do not Arts Library albums; only the individual give catalog withdrawal dates). As Bolig discs bore catalog numbers, many of which points out, the artists whose work appeared could also be purchased individually. All of on the Black Label are today normally the individual catalog numbers in this se- lumped into the broad category of “popu- ries are listed by Bolig in Section I of the lar” music. That term hardly begins to de- discography. scribe the diversity of material that ap- One album that has given researchers peared on this label during this time, considerable trouble is the first electrical including contemporary popular songs, re- recording of Dvorˇák’s Symphony No. 9 ligious music, dance music, old favorites, (“New World”), recorded by Leopold patriotic songs, spoken records by politi- Book Reviews 577 cians and comedians, Broadway selections, makes an important point about the “78- and educational records. The artists on rpm” record. Even though Victor catalogs Victor’s roster included vocalists, instru- stated that their records should be played mentalists of all varieties, concert bands, at this speed, very few of them were actually military bands, dance bands, studio orches- made at 78 rpm. Most Victor acoustics re- tras, small vocal ensembles, choirs, and the produce properly at 75.00 or 76.6 rpm and like. early electrics are often just under the nom- Once again, Bolig provides useful and inal speed, between 77.0 and 77.5. Victor well-researched background information in simply wasn’t able to measure their record- his introduction. The volume covering the ing speeds with the kind of precision neces- 16000 and 17000 series contains some his- sary for precise pitching of their records, torical background on the developments which is why most of their acoustic phono- and decisions leading up to the introduc- graphs were equipped with speed controls. tion of the double-sided record, which The Victor Discography: Green, Blue and was initially opposed by Victor and its Purple Labels covers an interesting and im- owner/founder Eldridge Johnson. Once portant part of the company’s catalog. Columbia, Victor’s major competitor in the Victor introduced the Purple Label in 1910 flat-disc market, adopted the format, Victor as a mid-priced series, featuring artists had little choice but to follow. Bolig also deemed of greater stature than those found discusses the relationships between Victor on the low-priced Black Label, but not of and its Canadian and overseas affiliates, sufficient artistic merit to warrant their locations where Victor recordings were placement on Red Seal records. The first made, the acoustic recording process, and Victor Purple Label release featured the identification of multiple versions of the Scottish entertainer Harry Lauder. Many same selection by the same artists. One releases included lighter classical fare with statement is likely to provoke disagreement a Victor house orchestra conducted by from musicians who are collectors: “Because Victor Herbert, as well as operatic selec- professional performers were able to repeat tions and ensembles by house artists, in- a selection with almost no noticeable differ- cluding soprano Lucy Isabelle Marsh, tenor ences, it is rarely worth listening to records Lambert Murphy, and baritone Reinald made during this period to determine if Werrenrath (many of these artists had pre- it is a different take” (p. xix). Collectors viously appeared on the Black Label). A thrive on identifying alternate takes of the number of Broadway performers also same recording, and astute listeners can in- appeared on this label. All Purple Label variably find something to distinguish mul- records were single-faced, but Victor also tiple versions from one another. introduced the Blue Label in 1910 for In the introduction to the 18000 and double-faced releases of much of the same 19000 series, Bolig discusses the public’s material. During its final years, Victor is- changing musical tastes as World War I sued several significant classical recordings drew to an end. Band records and vocal from European masters on the Blue Label. quartets were losing ground to dance The Purple label was abandoned in 1920, records, and jazz was on the rise. Before the but the double-faced Blue Series survived war, black artists were a rarity in the Victor into the beginning of electrical recording, catalogs, and white “country” performers finally disappearing in 1926. At that point, were almost non-existent. As important a few of the most important Blue Label sound recording patents expired, new artists were placed on Red Seal, including record companies sprang up to fill these Lauder (now Sir Harry), Marsh, Murphy, voids, and Victor had no choice but to and Werrenrath. The Green Label was a broaden their offerings in order to remain double-faced educational series of limited competitive. Bolig also covers the transition scope, with fewer than 70 released records to electrical recording, and the various between 1917 and 1929. markings found on Victor records, duplicat- Some of Victor’s decisions regarding the ing some of the material in Volume II of the placement of important classical artists on Red Seal discography, but also adding infor- the Blue Label are odd. Jacques Urlus was mation pertinent to the music and artists the most important Wagner tenor at the that appeared on the Black Label. Bolig Metropolitan Opera between 1913 and 578 Notes, March 2010

1917, having sung 130 performances with recordings, including those that were not the company during that time. As a tenor assigned catalog numbers, which Bolig admired by many of his contemporary does not. Bolig, on the other hand, lists all artists, including Enrico Caruso, one would Victor releases made from European mas- have thought him worthy of Red Seal ters, an extremely important part of the status. Yet his only Victor record—excerpts domestic Victor catalog. These exhaustive from Halévy’s La juive and Verdi’s Otello— research projects are complementary was issued on the Blue Label (Victor 55038, rather than competitive. Bolig’s printed recorded 1 September 1911 in Berlin and volumes are significant contributions to issued by Victor in 1914 under license from discographic research, and will prove in- The Gramophone Company). valuable to sound archives, researchers, As with the other volumes, Bolig’s intro- and serious collectors. duction provides extremely useful back- Raymond R. Wile is arguably the world’s ground information on these labels. I found leading expert on the history of Edison’s a couple of discrepancies between Bolig’s involvement in sound recording, and of the listings and my own copies of some of the Edison record catalog in both cylinder and Blue Label discs, specifically in the excerpts disc formats. Over the past thirty years Wile from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen has presented numerous papers on this recorded by The Gramophone Company subject at Association for Recorded Sound between 1920 and 1923, and issued by Collections annual conferences, and has Victor in 1924. On Victor 55204-B, “Sieg- authored a series of invaluable articles in mund sees the sword hilt in the tree” and the ARSC Journal. Among his most impor- 55206B, “Wotan warns Brünnhilde not to tant publications is the two-volume discog- disobey,” both from Die Walküre, the Victor raphy of the entire Edison Diamond label identifies the conductor as Eugene Disc catalog (Raymond Wile, Edison Disc Goossens, yet Bolig credits these sides to Recordings [Philadelphia: Eastern National Albert Coates. Christopher Dyment does Park and Monument Association, 1978]). not list these sides in his Coates discogra- The Edison Discography documents the last phy, so the Victor record labels are proba- four years of Edison’s phonograph busi- bly correct (Christopher Dyment, “Albert ness. Wile’s generously illustrated introduc- Coates Discography,” in Recorded Sound, tion gives an excellent overview of the nos. 57–58 [January & April 1975]: 386–405). problems facing Edison in 1926, and the In his introduction to the first Black company’s various attempts to save itself. Label discography, Bolig mentions the Electrical recording had been introduced Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Re - the year before, and by 1926 most record cordings Project being carried out at the companies had converted. But Edison stub- University of California, Santa Barbara un- bornly opposed the electrical recording der the direction of David Seubert and process because, in his view, “They cannot Sam Brylawski. This project is intended to record without distortion” (p. vii). His com- complete the unfinished work of the late pany was the only cylinder manufacturer William R. Moran and Ted Fagan, whose left, yet sales of Blue Amberol cylinders and two Victor discographies end at 1907 (Ted phonographs had dwindled to practically Fagan and Wm. R. Moran, The Encyclopedic nothing. The Edison Diamond Discs, in ad- Discography of Victor Recordings: Pre-Matrix dition to being acoustically recorded, were Series—12 January 1900 to 23 April 1903 vertically cut, making them incompatible [Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983]; with nearly every other disc phonograph and The Encyclopedic Discography of Victor (and, conversely, Edison’s Diamond Disc Recordings: Matrix Series—1 through 4999, phonograph was incompatible with nearly 23 April 1903 to 7 January 1908 [Westport, every other type of record). Despite CT: Greenwood Press, 1986]). As of this Edison’s continued objections, the com- writing the entire series of Victor matrix pany began experimenting with electrical numbers through 31 December 1920 are recording in 1927, and also began lateral available for online browsing and searching experiments that same year (Edison called (http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/ [accessed his laterals “Needle Type Electric” records). 18 November 2009]). Following Moran and It wasn’t until 1929 that Edison was actually Fagan, Seubert and Brylawski’s listing by able to get laterally cut records on the mar- matrix number includes all unpublished ket, however, and by then it was too late. In Book Reviews 579 the fall of 1929 he closed his record and prone to skipping and the format was dis- phonograph business for good. continued after about two years. For his discography, Wile has opted for a Experimental recordings are listed in an chronological listing by recording date. appendix, nearly all of which are 10-inch, Each entry contains matrix number, take acoustically recorded masters; some are (Edison used letters), artist(s), title of the standard Diamond Discs and others are side along with composer and authors of in Long Playing format. Wile uses some ter- the lyrics (if any), plus catalog numbers of minology which may be confusing. The the releases. Diamond Disc catalog num- “groove pitch” of a disc or cylinder is the bers are followed by “L” or “R” to indicate number of lines per inch (LPI), alternately the left or right side of a record (Edison’s referred to as “threads per inch” (TPI), on rather odd way of indicating sides 1 and 2). the record surface (the higher the number, Many records were issued in multiple for- the longer the record/play time). Wile mats, so Wile has used the prefix “DD” for refers to this specification as “turns per Diamond Disc, “BA” for Blue Amberol inch.” He also says that the standard cylinder, “LP” for Long Playing, “NT” for for Diamond Discs was 300; it was actually Needle Type, and “SR” for Sample Record. 150 (see Tom Owen, “A Technical and Sample Records were 12-inch, dubbed, Historical Look at the Stylus/Groove Inter- vertically-cut discs for dealer use. Wile lists face in Recording Past to Present” [pre- all unpublished recordings, many of which sented at the 74th Audio Engineering have survived. “Test” is used to indicate a Society convention, 8–12 October 1983, test pressing still held by the Edison AES Preprint 2048]). National Historical Site and “MM” is used Wile provides four indexes, by title, artist, to indicate if a metal matrix still exists. All accompanist, and vocal chorus, the last be- Edison disc records were double-faced, and ing an index of vocalists and speakers on Wile also includes the date when the instrumental recordings, when they are “Music Room Committee” decided on the documented in the Edison files. Each entry coupling for the opposite side. in the index is followed by the matrix num- Blue Amberol cylinders were generally ber(s) associated with that entry. I found at dubbed from vertically-cut Diamond Disc least one discrepancy in the artist index. masters, and Wile indicates the cylinder Under “Martinelli, Giovanni” the first master number along with the take of the matrix number is 12053, an Edison LP. disc master used for the dubbing. Once However, 12053 contains excerpts from electrical recording began, the Edison Verdi’s Aïda with tenor Giovanni Zenatello, Company frequently made simultaneous not Martinelli. Such problems are minor vertical and lateral disc masters on separate and rare. Wile’s reputation for methodical, cutters, split from the same microphone painstaking research is continually in evi- feed. In these cases, the lateral matrix dence in this discography. The Edison number can be identified by the prefix “N” Discography 1926–1929 is an important used by Edison to indicate a Needle-Type volume which will prove invaluable to matrix. researchers, institutions, and collectors. The discography is organized into chap- Gary A. Galo ters for each of the four years, plus addi- State University of New York at Potsdam tional chapters covering the Columbia Street (West Orange, NJ) Matrix Series, Long Playing Records, and the Slogan An Annotated Index to Selected Reproducing Machine Records. The Articles from The Musical Courier, Columbia Street masters consisted primar- 1880–1940. By Peter H. Adams. ily of Edison’s monthly advertising records, Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2009. each 12-inch disc containing a brief frag- [2 vols. (x, 1611 p.) ISBN ment of each of the new releases for that 9780810866584. $225.] Indexes. month. The series was short-lived, ending in February, 1927. Edison introduced a The Musical Courier, which began publica- fine-grooved, Long Playing record in 1926, tion in 1880 as The Musical and Sewing with a record/play time of twenty-four min- Machine Gazette and appeared weekly for utes for a 10-inch disc and forty minutes for most of its life until its demise in 1962, was the 12-inch discs. The Edison LPs were one of the most widely read music journals