Various Artists - The Paramount Masters 4 x CDs (due to weight, this price for the USA only. Outside of the USA, the price will be adjusted as needed) (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
23-JSP 7723
“If you want to have any idea of the origins of 20th century American music, this set is a must-have. The Paramount record label of the early 20th Century had no connection with the movie company of the same name. It was an outlet for some of the top blues, folk and jazz performers of the 1920s before the financial crisis that led to The Great Depression. Many of the names, and the music that they performed, would have been lost but for the recordings they made.
The financial difficulties of the times made the company's survival and its master discs impossible. However, its records were sold and some people managed to keep them over the years. Unlike larger labels (Decca, Victor, Columbia), the Paramount discs did not have wide distribution and were not produced in great quantities. The ones that were sold were often played a lot, thus were not always in the best condition if they survived.
To find a Paramount to-day in condition similar to a master recording would be impossible. To find one at all is rare. So the fact that someone could gather as many of the existing records and get them on a CD is a great achievement. Many might have refused to put some of these on the CD because of skips and clicks and other issues, but the producer here decided this music had to be heard to-day. There was at least one cut which was very rough, but the blues singer had to be heard!
There are a few very risque cuts, too. Again, I salute the producer for putting as much of the music on these CDs as possible. I was also glad to hear Meade Lux Lewis playing the piano on many of these: I would guess some of his first recordings. The CDs are "full platter", meaning they are packed to the format capacity of more than hour of music. I was pleased to get this collection and have played it several times in a relatively short span.”