If you've been reading the "Decades Countdowns" thread in the Pop/Rock section, it has been mentioned several times - mainly by me - that all of the surviving episodes of American Top 40 are on vinyl. The show's syndicator, ABC/Watermark destroyed all of the master tapes since the show was to be aired one time only.
However, thanks to a renewed interest in these classic shows, plus the fact that many people have collected old AT40 shows over the years, these shows have been digitally restored and rebroadcast. The company that restored these old shows, Charis Music Group, did a bang-up job trying to remove every known pop and scratch from these recordings. While nothing will always sound as good as the original masters, this is the next best thing.
As some of you know by some of my posts about records, I have a turntable hooked into my computer and I like to download my recordings onto my computer. Not long ago, I purchased a scratch removal program called "DePopper" and it's awesome. While the equipment I have is probably nothing close to what Charis has, I think what I have does the job, or close to.
Case in point: my copy of National Lampoon's Radio Dinner (1972), which has the comedy imprint's most-famous recording, "Deteriorata". The song is a parody of Les Crane's landmark 1971 rendition of "Desiderata". NL's version was written by Christopher Guest and Tony Hendra and was narrated by legendary radio announcer Norman Rose. The female vocals and keyboards were done by a 21-year-old Melissa Manchester.
Although the single of the song only made it to the lower portions of the Billboard Top 100, the song is now considered a comedy classic and a frequent track on the Dr. Demento Show. Even Les Crane admitted that this version was better than his.
So, check it out. Am I cut out to restore old vinyl? You be the judge. National Lampoon's Deteriorata
However, thanks to a renewed interest in these classic shows, plus the fact that many people have collected old AT40 shows over the years, these shows have been digitally restored and rebroadcast. The company that restored these old shows, Charis Music Group, did a bang-up job trying to remove every known pop and scratch from these recordings. While nothing will always sound as good as the original masters, this is the next best thing.
As some of you know by some of my posts about records, I have a turntable hooked into my computer and I like to download my recordings onto my computer. Not long ago, I purchased a scratch removal program called "DePopper" and it's awesome. While the equipment I have is probably nothing close to what Charis has, I think what I have does the job, or close to.
Case in point: my copy of National Lampoon's Radio Dinner (1972), which has the comedy imprint's most-famous recording, "Deteriorata". The song is a parody of Les Crane's landmark 1971 rendition of "Desiderata". NL's version was written by Christopher Guest and Tony Hendra and was narrated by legendary radio announcer Norman Rose. The female vocals and keyboards were done by a 21-year-old Melissa Manchester.
Although the single of the song only made it to the lower portions of the Billboard Top 100, the song is now considered a comedy classic and a frequent track on the Dr. Demento Show. Even Les Crane admitted that this version was better than his.
So, check it out. Am I cut out to restore old vinyl? You be the judge. National Lampoon's Deteriorata
