David Carroll isn't as well known as his contemporary Enoch Light, but both deserve to be remembered as pioneers of stereo recording. While Light and others concentrated on the effects of ping-pong percussion in their early stereo efforts, Carroll used the full orchestra in his stereo palette.
His 1958 Mercury LP Let's Dance and the followup, Let's Dance Again (1959), were considered ground-breaking in their day. Although the stereo quality and crispness of the recording are still remarkable the actual music hasn't aged particularly well. Let's Dance is closer to Guy Lombardo than to Benny Goodman.
Below is the title tune for you to sample.
David Carroll recorded more than two dozen albums for Mercury during the 1950s and '60s, as well as serving as A&R director for the label. He produced such artists as the Diamonds, Sarah Vaughan and Vic Damone.
Both Let's Dance and its followup were released on CD in 2005 by the first-rate Collector's Choice label. Both are now out of print, but copies are still available on Amazon. Only the first volume, however, has a reasonable price tag.
Let's Dance is available on iTunes and other download sites, but most likely has been sourced from a vinyl LP.
Here's another sample of Let's Dance from YouTube.
love this stuff simple appealing and just relaxing. just what it is easy listening!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it. There were several David Carroll dance albums on Mercury, all of which are worthwhile. Some of his other releases tend to be heavy on the strings and are not really appealing to me, I'm afraid.
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