Blue Mitchell- Brass and Strings- FORTISSIMO records

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

is this really RIVERSIDE?!?!??!?!

what in the holy hell of all things holy is up with this lp i just got-----you have to start it on the innermost groove and it plays outward toward the outtermost, it tracks BACKWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!! what other lps were on this label? !?!?? do u guys know about this? its really freaking me out.

[Stereojack]

is this really RIVERSIDE?!?!??!?!

what in the holy hell of all things holy is up with this lp i just got-----you have to start it on the innermost groove and it plays outward toward the outtermost, it tracks BACKWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!! what other lps were on this label? !?!?? do u guys know about this? its really freaking me out.

This is an early "audiophile" release of the Riverside album "Smooth As the Wind". At one time it was felt that tracking from the inside out minimizes distortion. The irony is that the audio on this record actually kinda sucks - the standard stereo issue was better, at least when played with a modern high end cartridge.

This is the only release I've seen on this label, but Riverside, which in addition to their extensive jazz and folk releases, issued a number of albums with recordings of racing cars and trains, and possibly some of those may have found their way onto Fortissimo. These albums were aimed at the new stereo market. Remember that in the early 1960's, stereo was still new, and record companies catered to customers who liked the kind of records that would maximize the stereo effect. Sometimes these gimmicky releases had little or no musical value.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

is this really RIVERSIDE?!?!??!?!

what in the holy hell of all things holy is up with this lp i just got-----you have to start it on the innermost groove and it plays outward toward the outtermost, it tracks BACKWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!! what other lps were on this label? !?!?? do u guys know about this? its really freaking me out.

Shades of Pathe records!

What happened at the end of the side? Did the tone arm fly off the edge of the disc?

MG

[flat5]

Playing from the inside to the edge was supposed to eliminate the need for an anti-skate adjustment.

I used to have a 78 record recorder. It cut a groove from the center to the edge so that the cuttings would be less likely to be in the path of the needle.

[brownie]

Never seen (or heard) of those Fortissimo records!

They must have looked like fun!

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

no, it just kind of floats there in the last groove

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Thanks Chewy - I always wondered about that.

MG

[clifford_thornton]

I used to have a 78 record recorder. It cut a groove from the center to the edge so that the cuttings would be less likely to be in the path of the needle.

Oooh! Cool! (studied those in my audio preservation and reformatting class)

[Chuck Nessa]

Never seen (or heard) of those Fortissimo records!

They must have looked like fun!

They had laminated, gatefold sleeves. I believe there was at least one other issue but I can't remember what it was. The one Chewy mentions was in red vinyl - at least the copies I saw.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

yes, red vinyl

[brownie]

Never seen (or heard) of those Fortissimo records!

They must have looked like fun!

They had laminated, gatefold sleeves. I believe there was at least one other issue but I can't remember what it was. The one Chewy mentions was in red vinyl - at least the copies I saw.

Chuck (and chewy), thanks for the details. Makes my mouth water. Ah, the endless mysteries and magic of vinyls

[couw]