Search - Regimental Band & Massed Pipes of Scots Guards :: Scots Guards on Parade

Vintage Scots Guards.

Roger Kennedy | 01/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are re-issue recordings from Angel records in the 1950s. These albums were released to mark the first USA tour of the regimental band and massed pipes and drums of the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Scots Guards who toured the States and Canada in 1955. As such they have great historic value. The recording quality for 1955 is surprisingly good. These recordings have a lot of character. The regimental band was under the direction of Samuel S. Rhodes, one of the premier British army directors of music at that time. His arrangements sparkle throughout this CD. The band also sounds superb. Comprising 66 musicians in 1955, the band has a fuller, almost orchestral quality to its music. Its interesting to compare this sound to guards bands today which only have 48 players. The massed pipes and drums provide an interesting contrast to the way pipe bands play today. These are the old WW2 vets playing here. Some of these guys piped the battalion over the Rhine in 1945. Pipe Majors Roe and Crabb were both in the war together. The drummmers use the old rope tension drums, which have a deeper tonality as compared to the modern ones today. Pipe bands just don't sound like this anymore, and its unfortunate that they don't. These records created a big hit in the 1950s, and its good to see them re-issued in original form today. These are vintage portraits of the Scots Guards. I highly recommend them."

Wonderful to have this band on CD

Robert J. Cruce | Muskogee, OK United States | 02/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can say a hearty amen to Mr Kennedy's review and would like to add that I own Angel S35792. It might surprise our other reviewer who found the sound quality poor that 35792 is made up of the portions of the two 1950's albums that were recorded in stereo. As it is, the CD has good 50's mono sound and some selections you didn't get on the single LP available in the early 1980's (which had no bagpipe tracks). EMI could have reissued part of the CD in stereo but chose not to make a hybrid CD of mono and stereo. And who knows whether the stereo tapes (which would have been from the earliest days of two channel recording)are inferior to a good mono tape (like Atomic Basie from 1957 where they had a beautiful mono tape to compete with a lesser stereo). From the LP album notes: "It will be a stubborn, dour heart that can listen to this recording without being stirred by the skirling magnificence of it and the vision it calls up of history,pageantry, and a warrior race." Did I forget to mention that you should snap up this CD without delay?"