Search - Floyd Cramer :: Distinctive Piano Style Of: Magic Touch of

Two mid-60s RCA Camden LPs on one disc.

David Kenner | Fort Worth, Texas United States | 09/11/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'd easily give this disc five stars because I think that the ten songs that comprise "The Magic Touch Of Floyd Cramer" are really good and the sound quality on these particular tracks ranges from good to excellent. But I have to deduct from the rating for other reasons. For one thing, I have to question Collectables decision to choose these two particular albums for this "two-fer". Both are really short mid-60s releases on the budget Camden label. Both are hodge-podge gatherings of tracks recorded several years prior to the albums' releases. Not to say that the music isn't good. A lot of Floyd's finest performances are included here, but why not pick two of his more cohesive RCA efforts like the two organ albums or two from the "Class Of..." series or an excellent title like "Country Piano, City Strings"? Maybe Camden is all BMG would license to them at this time. The inside of the cover lists 22 other recent Collectables releases and, looking over the titles, I believe most (if not all) of them are Camden albums.

Getting back to the sound quality, it should be noted that all of the tracks on this disc are in mono. This is understandable I suppose, because the original LPs were in mono. They were later reissued in stereo but for many of the songs, this meant fake "rechanneled stereo" since they were mono recordings. The few actual stereo recordings from the bunch could have been included here in stereo ("Shrum" is in true stereo on "The Essential Floyd Cramer") but they're mono. I don't really mind, and actually like having "Shrum" in both stereo and mono versions.

At any rate, the sound quality really takes a dive once the second album begins. There are so many drop-outs on "Tuxedo Junction" that the first half of the song is virtually unlistenable. After that song, the sound levels off and most of the rest of the disc sounds pretty good despite a little cloudiness to "Tomorrow's Gone" and "Naomi" and excessive treble on "Cryin'". The BMG Pair CD, "Country Classics" from 1988 also contained "Tuxedo Junction" and although the sound quality on that disc wasn't all that great, I don't remember all those drop-outs. I'm gonna make my own CD of these albums and replace this version with the one from the Pair CD.

Musically, this disc is all over the map. Aside from "Junction", Cramer knocks off covers of several other big band standards: "Sophisticated Swing", "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", and his hit single version of "Chattanooga Choo Choo". "Sophisticated Swing" sounds much better here than it did on the aforementioned "Country Classics" CD. The sound quality is at it's highest on the Pete Drake tune "For Those That Cry". I'm glad because this track was one of the main reasons I wanted "Magic Touch" on CD. "Tomorrow's Gone", "Shrum", "Losers Weepers", "All Night Long" and "Kisses And Tears" are all Cramer originals. The track "Hot Pepper" is a remake of Cramer's 1958 hit "Flip, Flop And Bop". Two tracks, "Story Of Three Loves" and "Goin' Home" are retitled classical pieces by Rachmaninoff and Dvorak respectively.

So you can look at this disc two ways. It's either a pairing of two Camden budget LPs, or just a collection of 20 Floyd Cramer favorites. The poor sound quality on "Tuxedo Junction" aside, any fan of Floyd's will find a lot to like here.

"

Floyd 5 stars plus, recording 2.

D'ASTE FRANCO | Italy | 12/12/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Floyd is unbelievable,his style and smooth touch are unique,the music is superb. No comparison with pianists of the last decade like, for example Richard Clayderman...good but normal. Floyd is of another planet. He would deserve a much better treatment, his recordings should be remastered in a much better way. This is the only weak point compared to Richard (not bad)) and others but as pure piano player Floyd is by far N°1. I've made some young kids that don't like solo smooth piano music hear Floyd and after an intial suspicion...they loved him. Unfortunately he is not very well known outside USA but it's no too late...RCA should clean and remaster his older recordings in a much better way (like "Piano Magic 1&2" = very good, or "The Essential FC")...result = anybody, no matter the age, that gets a chance to hear him will love him.

Ciao,

Franco"