1970

Audio Fidelity has always strived to achieve and maintain superlative technical and artistic quality in its records. This is our guarantee. The LPs from which this recording was made arc typical in that they reflect the highest standards in high fidelity. We suggest you ask for and listen to Audio Fidelity Records at your dealer at the earliest opportunity.

Side 1
Demonstration of High Fidelity Stereophonic sound

Side 2
1— Devotees of the speedy sports car gather at regular intervals at the Bridgehampton, Long Island track to test themselves and their high-powered steeds to the utmost. Here we are at the Sports Car Club of America national meeting. Our microphones are stationed at the First Bend, directly following the 3,100 feet ‘straight’ of the 3 mile long course. At this bend all drivers must throttle down to 70 m.p.h. (half of their speed on the straight) in order to ‘drift’ round with a four wheel slide before accelerating away. We hear the leaders as they roar past our twin microphones. The cars recorded included Porsches, ‘Mercs’, ‘D-Jags’, Ferraris, Austin-Healeys, Aston Martins and Maseratis. Can you identify them? The leaders lap the corner again, and we close with the mournful sound of a dying engine as one of the entrants limps back to the pits —just making it.

2— Fire! Every city in the world has its groups of brave and dedicated men whose task it is to fight the oldest enemy of civilized man. Their uniforms and equipment may differ in detail, but the sounds of their profession are the same — the crackling of flames and the urgent heart-clutching warnings of their sirens, bells and gongs. Here’s the Pumper Unit of New York’s East 67th Street Station House as it hurtles out on one of its many daily excursions, closely followed by the Fire Chiefs car.

3— Timber! No longer do the woods of North America echo to the sound of the lumberjack’s double-bitted axe thudding into the unyielding sides of the forest giants. Instead comes this sound —the high-pitched busy buzz of the power saw as its operator scientifically guides its speeding teeth into the base of a huge Douglas fir. Recorded in the foothills of Washington State, you’ll hear the saw slicing its way to the final fibers holding the tree to its base, followed by the creaking as those fibers at last give way, and the great fir capitulates to man and hurtles to the forest floor.
(Courtesy of Homelite, a division of Textron, Inc.)

4— It’s five o’clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon in December. We’re at the ringside of the world’s largest Plaza de Toros in Mexico City. We’re part of a capacity crowd, because the matador we’ve come to watch is fighting a bull of the dreaded Miura strain. Fading in to the excited, approving “oles’’ of the crowd (everyone an aficionado in his own right) we listen as the matador executes a series of brilliant passes. Is it the moment of truth? Almost, but a clumsy picador spoils the climax by distracting attention of both bull and man. The crowd roars and hisses its disapproval — disapproval which instantly turns back to happy approbation as the lithe matador restores his dominance over the angry bull, and with artistic cape and foot work prepares his opponent for its last few seconds as chief actor in the drama of the brave bulls.

5— In January 1959 Audio Fidelity took its microphones and Ampex tape recorder down to the Grand Central Station of New York’s I.R.T. subway line. Evening rush hour recordings, these, redolent of the hustle and hurry — and good humor — of the native New Yorker as he speeds his way beneath the crowded streets. You’ll recognize the voices of the platform men of the north bound express track as they warn their passengers, and then comes the unmistakable banging, rattle and rumble of the speeding subway cars as they smash their way to. from and past the platforms.

6— Close Order Drill. A scene in sound which takes place daily in every American army post the world over. Here a typical (and tough) N.C.O. puts his squad through its paces at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. Maryland, his bored dispassionate commands interrupted only by the excited squeal of a Diesel shunter, as it grinds its way past the parade ground carrying a load of heavy ammunition for the big guns which appear on a later band of this disc.

7— The mighty mastodons of war are put to the lest at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and here we listen to a 35 ton tank as it is prepared for an obstacle run. First comes the clang of the lid as they ‘‘button up’’, followed by the sound of “Little Jo”, the auxiliary engine which in turn starts the tank’s main engines. Next the high-pitched whine of the electric auxiliary motors which revolve the main and secondary turrets, followed by the sound as the turrets themselves ponderously rotate. Out of the tank with our microphones now, and to the ground where we record the great beast’s passage to and from as it spins on its treads, and finally the shattering roar of its acceleration as it trundles away out of hearing.

8— Still at Aberdeen Proving Ground, but this time the star of our recording is a heavy calibre machine gun. Bursts of fire follow the whistled commands, and between each burst you’ll .hear the clatter of the empty shell cases from the automatic self-ejecting breech of this potent weapon.

9— Small arms practice at Aberdeen. Rapid fire from automatic pistols on the range. Nostalgic sounds these, to many an ex G.I.

10— Ricochet studies in stereophonic sound! Target for the pistol shots in this recording is a flat rock. You’ll hear some misses —but many hits. Notice how the unmistakable clang and whine of the ricochet echoes down the Aberdeen Proving Ground range.

11— To liven up the party comes the business-like explosion of cannons. Taking a crew of two for its operation this weapon resounds through the Aberdeen Proving Ground — and through your home — like a young thunderstorm.

12— Ace commentator Bob Conto’s hardest of hard-selling pitching whips the crowd to fever point at the Hell Drivers’ exciting show as he brilliantly describes the death-defying stunt to be attempted by Bill Horton. You’ll hear a standard sedan (reinforced at one or two strategic points) take a 50 foot ramp at 70 m.p.h., fly thru the air, and land on another car conveniently left there by the show organizers. Fix these rending sounds in your mind — remember what speed can do to your automobile (and you) — and drive carefully!
(‘‘Hell Drivers” effect courtesy of Kochman Thrill Shows.)

After high school, Ray went to Boston and joined “Dan Murphy’s Musical Skippers” as trombonist/arranger/truck driver and started his professional career as a barnstorming musician for the grand sum of $35.00 a week. Ray soon discovered that playing and arranging for the same orchestra were providing him with a million-dollar education in the rudiments of orchestral arranging. By hearing and performing the arrangement night after night, the arranger has an opportunity to analyze the good and bad points of each arrangement. In the three decades Ray has been performing this dual role, he has discovered and discarded all the devices that don’t work and found or created just about every one that will.

While on tour with the “Skippers,” Ray Conniff encountered a musical genius of that era… Count Basic. The musical world had yet to discover the “Count,” but Ray spent every free night at the Reno Club in Kansas City listening and learning. Ray credits Basic not only with his considerable contribution to jazz and popular music, but also for initiating a young man named Conniff to the mysteries of the essence of pop music – the beat.

After Ray left the “Skippers” he moved to New York and auditioned for Bunny Berigan’s orchestra as arranger/trombonist. He was hired on the spot and spent two years working with the other greats in the band like Gcorge Auld, Joe Bushkin and Buddy Rich. While with Berigan, Ray was heard by Bob Crosby and immediately offered a job with the famed “Bob-cats.” By 1940. Ray was making quite a name for himself in music circles as an arranger and composer. It was for this ability, as much as for his virtuosity on the trombone, that Ray was signed to the Artie Shaw Orchestra, then one of the three top bands in the count.

During his five years with Shaw, Ray did some of his best writing. Many of his compositions were recorded by Shaw and some of them like Just Kiddin’ Around, Jumpin’ On The Merry Go-Round and Prelude In C Major are still popular. One of his best arrangements for Shaw was the Gershwin tune, S’ Wonderful, which today is synonymous with the “Ray Conniff Sound.

After Artie Shaw, Ray joined Glen Gray as a straight arranger. Unfortunately, while many of Ray’s arrangements and compositions were performed live and on the air, none were ever recorded by Gray and are now lost forever.

Ray’s next job was with Uncle Sam, who for two years utilized his talents for the Armed Services Radio Network. After his discharge, Ray went to work for Harry James.

It was while working with tonics that Ray Conniff was first introduced to Columbia Records. Ray arranged many of James’ best records including the hit version of September Song. After nearly three years with Harry James, the musical monster known as be-bop reared it ugly head and Ray’s impeccable taste prevented him from arranging this new music.

The next two years were the most difficult of Ray’s musical career. Yet at the same time they were among the most productive, for it was during this time that Ray began to examine the makings of a hit record. While working at other jobs. Ray’s musical appetites were sated by the dissection of hit singles. He asked himself why one record is a hit while others never make it. After three years of investigation and study, he hit on a formula for arranging that he knew could be instrumental in producing hit records. Unfortunately, he found it difficult to sell his ideas to a record company. It wasn’t until the early 50’s when Ray met Mitch Miller, Director of Artists and Repertoire for Columbia, that things began to happen.

Miller, convinced that Ray was on to something, gave him a chance. On the third Conniff-arranged single it happened: Don Cherry’s Band Of Gold became a smash hit. This started a series of Conniff-arranged singles that reads like a Who’s Who of all-time hit records: Johnny Ray’s Walkin’ In The Rain sold over a million; Frankie Laine’s Moonlight Gambler sold nearly that number; Guy Mitchell’s Singin’ The Blues went over three million, knocking Elvis Presley out of first place on the charts: Marty Robbins White Sport Coat was one of his biggest hits and Johnny Mathis’ Wonderful, Wonderful, Its Not For Me To Say and Chances Are are history.

Shortly after his success with Band Of Gold. Ray recorded his first Columbia album. He dusted off his old Artie Shaw arrangement of S’ Wonderful added orchestral voices. put in all his arranging ideas and the “Conniff Sound” was born. Since that first I.P. Ray Conniff has recorded many goat albums. Seven of them hoot received the coveted Gold Record Award.

Because his very first, and succeeding albums have been such great successes. Ray has been termed an “instant success” by some. Nothing could be further from the truth. like all great artists, musical or otherwise. Ray has matured and improved like a fair wine. His years of service to the great bands in the count, coupled with his inherent musical genii., have resulted in his deserved recognition. The magical “Conniff Touch” transcends musical fads and fortunately for our, and future generations, it will be preserved for years to come in that piece of vinyl between these two pieces of cardboard.

Tom Riley