I’ve got a couple of these type of albums. I just think they are cool. Do you want to post them? I’ve also got one of Dixieland Jazz that I bought at a garage sale just for you! I saw it and thought it looked just like something you would post.
This was also available in North America on LONDON, since British DECCA couldn’t issue their label because of American DECCA. Ironically, they’re all the same company now.
We have a number of classical albums on the London ffss label. I used to joke that the ffss was the sound of the surface noise; but actually they are superior recordings and very well-engineered discs that gave us very few problems over the years.
The surface noise on London discs was usually from North American pressings. Classical pressings were still done in Britain, and later in Holland, using the same Decca plates, but with the London labels. The sound was as smooth as silk, and to this day they fetch nice sums on the collectors’ market, especially the early blue-backs (the cover of the back liner-note side of the jackets).
Remember, the sound engineers for Decca/London were the same people who helped develop Radar/Sonar, etc. for the British war-effort.
I guess I need to clarify! Actually, I did add that the sound was actually excellent on our ffrr records. As a kid, I tried to pronounce “ffrr” and it sounded like the surface noise characteristic of scratchy records, hence the joke… I never disparaged London, Decca or any of their subsidiaries’ products, and in fact did notice their great sound quality. Just some juvenile humor, like calling Home Depot “Home Cheapo” or “Home Despot” or Barnes & Noble “Barnes & Ignoble” even as we shop there.
I did not know that fact about the Radar & Sonar development, though! Thanks for the info. One learns something new every day.
October 14th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I’ve got a couple of these type of albums. I just think they are cool. Do you want to post them? I’ve also got one of Dixieland Jazz that I bought at a garage sale just for you! I saw it and thought it looked just like something you would post.
October 15th, 2009 at 3:19 am
This was also available in North America on LONDON, since British DECCA couldn’t issue their label because of American DECCA. Ironically, they’re all the same company now.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:01 am
We have a number of classical albums on the London ffss label. I used to joke that the ffss was the sound of the surface noise; but actually they are superior recordings and very well-engineered discs that gave us very few problems over the years.
October 15th, 2009 at 6:40 am
The surface noise on London discs was usually from North American pressings. Classical pressings were still done in Britain, and later in Holland, using the same Decca plates, but with the London labels. The sound was as smooth as silk, and to this day they fetch nice sums on the collectors’ market, especially the early blue-backs (the cover of the back liner-note side of the jackets).
Remember, the sound engineers for Decca/London were the same people who helped develop Radar/Sonar, etc. for the British war-effort.
October 18th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I guess I need to clarify! Actually, I did add that the sound was actually excellent on our ffrr records. As a kid, I tried to pronounce “ffrr” and it sounded like the surface noise characteristic of scratchy records, hence the joke… I never disparaged London, Decca or any of their subsidiaries’ products, and in fact did notice their great sound quality. Just some juvenile humor, like calling Home Depot “Home Cheapo” or “Home Despot” or Barnes & Noble “Barnes & Ignoble” even as we shop there.
I did not know that fact about the Radar & Sonar development, though! Thanks for the info. One learns something new every day.
October 18th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
Ouch – I used “actually” twice in the second sentence.
October 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am
This puts me in mind of “A Song of Reproduction” by Flanders and Swann,
“High fidelity/FFRR for me…”
My favorite term was “Orthophonic High Fidelity” (RCA), which, it can only be gathered, has corrective capabilities.