PRICE:
$31.50
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Sprigs Of Time: 78s From The EMI Archive
FORMAT
2LP

LABEL
CATALOG #
HJR 036LP HJR 036LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
8/25/2017

2021 restock. Originally released in 2008. This is the third in Honest Jon's series of albums exploring the earliest 78s held in the EMI Hayes Archive. Honest Jon's spent two years delving through more than 150,000 78 records in the temperature-controlled steel vaults of EMI's Archive in Hayes, Middlesex. An eccentric survey of the Hayes shelves, Sprigs Of Time is a thirty track compilation featuring material recorded between 1903 and 1957, everywhere from England (Percy Grainger's recording of the title song, sung by Joseph Taylor in 1908) to Japan (the bewilderingly beautiful "Seigaiha", by the Japanese Imperial Palace Band, five years earlier). Organ rolls from Georgia run alongside Tamils impersonating motorized transport, and rumba from Beirut; '40s fado sits next to the songs of Bengali beggars. As with the other Hayes releases, all tracks have been restored at Abbey Road and are beautifully presented here with extensive contemporary photographs. There are recognizable names (Joseph Taylor, the incomparable Fairuz, Mighty Sparrow and an uncredited Rubén González, singing lead vocals on "Rumba Negra") and extraordinary oddities (Vengopal Chari's rather unfunny "Laughing" and the peculiarly affecting hand bells of "Gas All Clear"). Taken out of the library and put back on the turntable, every track here is remarkable; every one worth the saving. Also features: G.U. Hsu, Gamelan Gong, Rizeli Kemenceci Sadik, Ochieng Wa Odinga, Sacasas, Jean Mpia, Jonuzi Me Shoket, Fernando Vilches & Ramon Montoya, Cliff Edwards, Benodini Dassi, Imperial Palace Band, Mr. Ero, Fatma Ben Meddah, Noubar Bey & Party, Ben Simmons, Cantonese Opera, Sam Mayo, Fernando Farinha, Gopal Chunder Singh Roy, Fatma El Chameya Sudaneya, Surat Band (Mr. Razak's), Si Said Ben Ahmed, Malijo & Party, Sexteto Habanero, and A.R.P.. Comes in a deluxe gatefold sleeve with two booklets of photos and notes.