18 Arthur Lyman albums being released on CD!!

Yep!!!

Collector's Choice is releasing 9 Two-Fer CD's of Arthur Lyman!!!!!!!!!!!!

They have been mastered from the original master tapes and are scheduled to be released on January 15th 2008!!

1. Cotton Fields/Blowin' in the Wind
2. Lyman '66/The Shadow of your Smile
3. Bwana A/Bahia
4. On Broadway/Colorful Percussions
5. Illikai/At the Port of Los Angeles
6. The Many Moods of Arthur Lyman/Love For Sale
7. Isle of Enchantment/Polynesia
8. Latitude 20/Aphrodisia
9. Winner's Circle/Today's Greatest Hits

You can view them here............

http://www.ccmusic.com/search.cfm?searchkey=ARTHUR%20LYMAN&bounce=y&searchType=artist

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2008-01-01 16:19 ]

[ Edited by: Jeff Central 2008-01-01 16:20 ]

Going to have to grab Bwana A . Thanks for the heads up .

Fantastic thanks for letting us know Jeff

OOOhhh..5 & 9 particularly interest me. Ilikai '66 was a good LP...and I love Aphrodesia as well.

at least they paired the ones I want together.
sometimes lables will pair a stinker with a good album to make you buy more of the cds.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

On 2008-01-03 21:55, bigtikidude wrote:
at least they paired the ones I want together.
sometimes lables will pair a stinker with a good album to make you buy more of the cds.

Jeff(bigtikidude)

Collectibles is particularly notorious for this.

Oh happy days. I have CDRs I made from my old LPs. Now I will have nice copies of some of my favorite albums!!!

Am very happy to see these released, and am planning to order as soon as possible. That being said - what LPs of this batch do folks think are the top 5? Am trying to plan my purchasing.

Also - I've dropped a line to them asking about Hawaiian Sunset Vol. 2, which I don't think (correct me if I'm wrong) has been issued on CD ever.

~Rupe

None of these have ever been released on CD.

Bahia is a classic but if your like me eventually you will need them ALL!!!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Hey Jeff,

Happy new year!

Have you heard these CDs yet? Do they sound good? Do you know if they were remastered from tape?

Jack

Happy New Year to you too Jack!!

I haven't heard these yet. According to the catalog these were all mastered from the original Master tapes so I imagine they sound incredible.

Now if I can persuade them to release "African Jazz" and "Jungle Jazz" by Les Baxter as a two-fer we can all rest a little easier.

It's funny because the last time I contacted CC about possible Exotica releases they said Exotica was beating a dead horse. Then all of a sudden 9 Arthur Lyman CD's. Go figure!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

On 2008-01-07 08:42, rupe33 wrote:
Am very happy to see these released, and am planning to order as soon as possible. That being said - what LPs of this batch do folks think are the top 5? Am trying to plan my purchasing.

I really like "Bwana A". In fact, I was listening to it just last night.

But it looks like I'll probably end up getting all of these, though probably not all at once.

Great to see so many "lost" Lyman works resurface in one breach! Gotta net these while they're out there.

Mahalo nui for the shrunken-heads-up, JC!

On 2008-01-07 11:44, Jeff Central wrote:

It's funny because the last time I contacted CC about possible Exotica releases they said Exotica was beating a dead horse. Then all of a sudden 9 Arthur Lyman CD's. Go figure!

Well...look at the popularity of Tiki and Polynesia in the past few years....making a comeback of sorts. Maybe Exotica will see a little resurgence ?

Very cool...thanks for the link Jeff...counting my pennies now. :)

Thanks for the date, I can't wait to get these. Has anyone compared the sound quality of their two-fer cd's to other versions, like with the Les Baxter cds? I haven't heard the newer cd releases of Les Baxter to compare, but the CCs are perfectly fine for me. I'm not such an audiophile, but just curious if there's any difference.

As far as quality goes, my copies of some of the new Lyman CDs are in the mail, so I will see. But when you listen to the LP's the spacial quality is good, but some LP recordings have a great deal of tape his (from the original tape), this is not vinyl surface noise, but actual tape hiss. There is even a track (I can't remember which LP its on), that you can head, what sounds like, people unloading a pallet of stuff. Lyman is doing a quiet passage on a tune and there is the definate sound of large things being dropped in the background. Its amazing that they kept that and didn't do another take.

"Exotica is a dead horse"

I wonder what the heck they meant by that?

I would suggest that eveyone write or email in to DCC and let them know you appreciate the Lyman releases (and by all means, buy them)!! It really does help to let a label know that thier efforts are worth while and could help to prompt them into considering other exotica reissues.

I saw a bunch of Older Arthur Lyman cds on the HiFi lable at a record store yesterday.
how is the sound of those?
and are they out of print now?

thanks,
Jeff(bigtikidude)

I have some of the Hi-Fi CD's (which were released by Ryko) and I must say, the sound quality is quite good on all except "Pele". That CD sounds terrible. The sound is thin and lacks any bottom end at all. I don't have the LP to do a side-by-side comparison. Anyone else experience that?

On 2008-01-15 09:52, Digitiki wrote:
I have some of the Hi-Fi CD's (which were released by Ryko) and I must say, the sound quality is quite good on all except "Pele". That CD sounds terrible. The sound is thin and lacks any bottom end at all. I don't have the LP to do a side-by-side comparison. Anyone else experience that?

I have the CD and the LP . I'll do a side by side later on and let you know what I find .

On 2008-01-15 09:52, Digitiki wrote:
I have some of the Hi-Fi CD's (which were released by Ryko) and I must say, the sound quality is quite good on all except "Pele". That CD sounds terrible. The sound is thin and lacks any bottom end at all. I don't have the LP to do a side-by-side comparison. Anyone else experience that?

For comparison , I listened to the first three tracks on side one of the LP and CD . Like you said , the sound is " thin " , and lacking bottom . The highs are over-accentuated , e.g. hits on the ride cymbal bell almost blowing my eardrums out ! The LP sound is an overall warmer and more pleasurable listening experience .

Who released Arthur's Christmas album? That has a pretty bad sound...and not one photo of the man on it or in it!

The sad fact is that when I got him to sign my Ryko CD of Taboo at the Otani, he told me that he was not getting any royalties of any of his re-releases anymore....how can that be !? Did he sign off the rights to his catalog to some record company which licensed them out as it pleased ?

Pretty sure my Silvery coated MELE KALIKIMAKA LP has a photo of the band in SUITS...and it sounds GREAT...guess it depends on what version you get

Bigbro, you nailed it. That's been my concern since the dawn of 'downloading music'. Are the right people getting money for these re-prints? Are the WRONG people getting my money? --and how do I know?

If Lyman wasn't getting any bread from the re-issues when he was still breathing, no way is his family seeing any now.

If it's any consolation, most artists have been ripped off by record labels from Day One.

and will CONTINUE to be if busines has anything to do with it...the artistic are an EASY MARK...they seem to need MODERATE influxes of QUICK MONEY to keep creating

of course they release all this on cd.... AFTER I spent several weeks downloading my Arthur Lyman vinyl into my computer and burning cds for the backyard. I almost had all the albums too, just missing a few.

I, too, am anxiously awaiting word on the sonic condition of the new Lyman re-issues before I buy them. I have all the recent re-issues they did (before this new 2-fer wave). I would also love to find out if that recent 2-CD "The Singles" compilation of Lyman 45's has any exclusive material not on his albums. I know sometimes 45s would have alternate recordings or different versions, or even exclusive material. Anyone have this singles collection? Sometimes with so many compilations it's hard to figure out which ones have actual rare material and which ones just re-hash the same album tracks over and over.
Thanks again,
Curious,
Louis

Thread bump
and
I just contacted Collector's Choice and it appears that the Lyman CD's releases have been pushed back from Jan 18 to Feb 24th. Argghhhh!!

Thanks for the heads up. Was wondering what was going on!

On 2008-02-04 15:32, Digitiki wrote:
Thread bump
and
I just contacted Collector's Choice and it appears that the Lyman CD's releases have been pushed back from Jan 18 to Feb 24th. Argghhhh!!

WTF? They are making us drool in anticipation!!

Thanks for the heads up Mark!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Hi, I'm David Smay. You may know me from such exotic projects as the Tiki Noir column in Tiki News, my Spy Jazz article for Scram way back in the nineteen nineties, or my Lost Voodoo Episode.

Sorry, couldn't resist the Troy McClure imitation.

Anyway, I co-wrote the liner notes for these reissues with Kim Cooper.

I can't tell you about the sound quality on the reissues, however, because we were working off of rips from the original LPs. Those sounded fantastic, though, so I really have high hopes for the reissues.

As you all probably know Bahia and B'wana are the most classically tiki of the reissues. Listening to everything, though, I really got to like Lyman's mid-sixties work which had some pretty hot go-go grooves. Lyman '66 was a particular favorite with tracks like "The (Jungle) Cat," "The Boy From Laupahoehoe," "Bird Train" (which really should be used as an animation score by Spumco), and the groovy Mary Poppins medley.

I also really liked Afrodesia and Illikai, though they each have their high points.

Because I suspect there's some crossover between Tikiphiles and Tom Waits fans (based on...marimba abuse? That cool cover of "Jockey Full of Bourbon" by the Blue Hawaiians?) I'll note that I also have a new book out on Swordfishtrombones in the 33 1/3 series. A very astute fellow reviews it here.

Thanks for the info David and welcome to TC!! :)

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

It probably won't change my decision to buy the reissues, but I am a little disappointed they are rips from LP's. I suppose for a 'dead horse' it represents new life and I'm grateful for that. In the immortal words of Elwood Blues-what do you want for nothin?

Why are they LP rips? Don't the masters exist anymore?

On 2008-02-11 10:49, David Smay wrote:
I can't tell you about the sound quality on the reissues, however, because we were working off of rips from the original LPs. Those sounded fantastic, though, so I really have high hopes for the reissues.

I'm certainly no expert, but I believe that "working off of rips from the original LPs" merely means that David Smay and the like didn't have access to the actual reissues while they were researching and writing the liner notes. So, in order to comment accurately on the music contained in each album, they listened to LP rips. I think? Sounds good to me! Collectors' Choice Music doesn't simply transfer LPs to CDs. I'm pretty sure that all of their label reissues are remastered from the original master tapes. I could be wrong, though. I hope not, seeing as I just ordered "Bwana'A/Bahia,""Isle Of Enchantment/Polynesia," and "Latitude 20/Aphrodesia"!
I guess I'll have to wait and see...

Whoa, sorry to add to the confusion.

Deja is correct. Kim and I worked from the rips because they were still doing the digital transfer. I can't comment on the final audio quality because I haven't heard them, but the reissues themselves will certainly be fully digitally remastered etc.

I just got an email from Collector's Choice that 2 of my Lyman CD's have just shipped! Woohoo! i can't wait to hear the albums from the master tapes.

Ok folks, I just got my first CD with "Bwana A" and "Bahia" on it. I am pleasently suprised. They sounds as if they are indeed taken from the master tapes. The sound quality is excellent. I highly recommend this CD for all Lyman fans. I for one, have been longing for "Bahia" on CD as it was my first introduction to exotica when I was 5 years old.

The only beef I have is that the cover art representation for the LP "Bahia" is very poor. The liner notes include a large representation of the front cover of "Bwana A" and "Bahia." The Bwana A cover looks great, the Bahia cover looks washed out and poorly rendered. They aslo included the original LP back cover from "Bwana A" but not the one from "Bahia". Oh well. I own copies of the LPs so, its not a huge issue.

All and all I would give this release a 7 out of 10.

Now I'm just waiting for the others I've ordered to arrive in the mail!!

I'm so glad to hear these reissues are worth the hefty price! OK, $16.95 isn't ridiculously expensive but when you consider that most new CDs can be had for anywhere from $10 to $14, the extra dollar or two tacked on to the cost of the Lyman reissues is a little odd considering that a) Collector's Choice Music said Exotica was a dead horse, and b) the majority of their reissues sell for a lot less. I guess the whole two LPs on one CD thing warrants a higher price? Oh well. It's not like I'm not buying the albums anyway!

If these reissues prove popular and sell in droves, perhaps Collector's Choice Music will seek out other easy listening/lounge/exotica albums languishing in the vaults and realize that there is still a market for re-releasing "old" music not just in MP3 format but also on CD. Even though I love my iPod, there's still something magical about tearing open a freshly picked CD and thumbing through the jacket before spinning that little plastic disc on the 'ol stereo...

That being said, I can't wait for my first batch of Arthur Lyman reissues to arrive. They shipped TODAY! :)

With all due respect, $16.95 is a tad steep for 50 year old music that I can find at the Salvation Army for considerably less.

Still, I'm glad the music is being digitally preserved (for those who care to shell out $16.95).

I'm just glad these albums are seeing the light of day (digitally speaking that is). I'm with you guys too on the fact that I just hope these sell enough to prompt the further release of vintage exotica. I for one would love to see the Gene Rains stuff released on CD too.

With all this talk about MP3 VS CD, which sounds better? MP3 and dowloaded material is compressed, right? That means it is no longer Hi-fi, and I believe exotica deserves to be listened to on a good stereo, as it was meant to be.

I know I've said this before here, but I want to encourage everyone to purchase these Lyman CD's and by all means, write to Collector's Choice and let them know that there is a market for this music. Send them and email and write and old fashioned letter. Public interest and above all, sales are the things what will prompt the powers that be to consider other exotica vintage reissues.

I must remind everyone that not all Lyman LPs are being reissued by CCMusic. Still missing is "Call of the Midnight Sun","Hawaiian Sunset, Vol. 2","Aloha Amigo" and "Arthur Lyman's Greatest Hits"

Disc number 2 arrived today with "Cotton Fields" & "Blowin In The Wind" albums on it. Again the sound quality is first rate!

Cotton Fields...a few too many covers on that one..that and Love For Sale are 2 Lyman LPs I cast off

FYI - Amazon is now listing these releases for an April 8 release date and an $18.98 retail price.

The Collector's Choice has free shipping for orders over $50, so if you're picking up 3 of the CDs that'll get you over that threshold.
~Rupe