jeremyrose wrote:

Does anyone happen to know whether the "Hey Jude, Hey Bing" download offered by Amazon suffers from the same pitch problems as the i-tunes equivalent? I've been trawling through the download section of the French Amazon site, which has a surprisingly healthy Bing section...

Jeremy, I see that you have confirmation of the worst type. I think it quite likely that the two share a common source.

As to the French branch of Amazon, it does look quite well stocked with Bing material, including a few discs that I have not seen on offer elsewhere. They include 'In Hollywood' three discs which bear at least a superficial similarity to the French 'Chansons Cinema' set of a few years ago, and

'Bing Crosby avec Bob Scobey et les Frisco Jazz'

with the note by the editorial team -

'Voici un album qui reflète tout le talent et la bonne humeur de Bing Crosby, un album où il interprète des chansons toujours populaires avec un groupe de musiciens qui swinguent, Bob Scobey et le Frisco Jazz Band. Le groupe de Bob Scobey est, lors de l'enregistrement de ce disque, au paroxysme de sa carrière et de son talent, et surtout, en complète harmonie avec un chanteur qu'ils admirent, et dont ils accompagnent ici de superbes solos dans un rythme endiablé. On écoute dans ce disque le Bing Crosby qu'on connaît et qu'on aime, le premier crooner, le chanteur incontournable de la variété internationale, celui qui a influencé Frank Sinatra et Little Richard par sa façon de chanter et d'utiliser le micro, l'artiste la voix basse et douce.'

Or to put it another way

Here is an album which reflects all the talents and good humour of Bing Crosby, an album which interprets perennially popular songs with a group of musicians who swing, Bob Scobey and the Frisco Jazz Band. Bob Scobey's group was, during the recording of this disc, at the peak of its career and its talent, and in especially full harmony with a singer whom they admire, and with whom they accompany in solos of a superb and enviable rhythm. They listen in this disc Bing Crosby that they know and that they love, the first to croon, the inevitable singer of international variety, the one who influenced Frank Sinatra and Little Richard how he sings and uses the microphone, the artist in low and soft voice.

(with apologies if my French is not capable of mastering the colloquial here - not too certain about the 'au paroxysme de sa carrière et de son talent' or 'rythme endiablé' bits!) But who can dispute the general sentiment, except possibly the bit about Little Richard?

Last edited by Richard Baker (12/8/2011 11:37 am)

I am no big fan of "downloads" if a real CD exists.

So I bought a real one, used of course and not really cheap, and it runs too slow, too.

What a crap!

Some of the versions on Spotify run at the right speed. You have to be selective.