Oh my, can I really claim that? After 7 years of collecting, is it possible that I only need only five more vinyl records to complete phase 1 of my magnificent 101 Strings Orchestra collection, comprising over 350 releases? To be honest, it’s like counting grains of sand, perhaps I missed a few. My spreadsheet has 5 possible catalog numbers I may still need, but I’m not sure they all actually exist. Even discogs.com doesn’t have them, though I’ve seen possible evidence elsewhere. The good folks at Alshire.com have been doing a great job showing us the 101 Strings catalog on their website, but I don’t see these rare listings there either. A few elusive grains of sand remain to be counted.
So argh, truth be told, they are likely 5 more releases on vinyl I need to complete the Alshire collection.
Japanese Folk Songs (S-5319)
A Digital Recording (S-5388)
Salute to the Big Bands – Tommy Dorsey (S-5389)
Salute to the Big Bands – Glenn Miller (S-5390)
Salute to the Big Bands – Woody Herman (S-5391)
Update: soon after this post, I found a new seller – Panamapaul – on discogs who had the Woody Herman in NM condition!
Only Four Left To Go!!!
I have a white label test pressing of A Digital Recording, so I can be a bit lax and claim I own it, although discogs shows a real version exists.
And while the Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller are not listed in discogs, Woody Herman is there, and how on earth did I miss the one that sold earlier this year? And it was mint sealed!
These five (correction: four, yay!) releases are nearly impossible to find. Either that, or my google skills are not up to par. I regularly check Discogs, Ebay, Amazon and other sites. But no one has them for sale. If you’re reading this and have one of the above, let me know!
I often talk to record store owners, and it’s rare for any but the most common releases to come into their shops. Most, I believe, languish in thrift stores, closets or landfills.
This sets up an interesting situation as the 101 Strings Orchestra can be seen as a severely undervalued brand, one that is ripe for rediscovery by a society constantly looking for something new to latch onto and enjoy. They just seem so worthy to me.
But I know the music is not everyone’s cup of tea. Even fans of retro cocktail lounge music frown upon the 101 Strings as lacking cool factor. Just like Sturgeon’s Law (90% of everything is crap), plenty of mediocre tracks exist. Less than you would think though. The 101 Strings were like the Wrecking Crew of muzak. Almost all of it is quality music, sometimes inspired, just not the kind we normally listen to.
More than a few releases don’t fit the mold and are sought after for the musical: Astro Sounds, anything with Les Baxter, or the Exotic Sounds of Love releases among others.
So when I’m in the mood for mellow music, I have some favorites I’ll throw on the turntable, and I’ll marvel at the superb productions. It truly is “The Sound of Magnificence”.
Back to that mythical one release I need to help complete my collection, this is it: Japanese Folk Songs Featuring The Shakuhachi (Bamboo Flute) – Katsuya Yokoyama.
I would really like to get my hands on this one!
