Carmela,

Bing's voice doesn't really sound slow to me on "Now Is the Hour." What happens is that it is a very slow ballad, and Bing takes it a very slow tempo, which in my opinion underscores the intimacy and sadness of the song. That being said, I suppose that singing it at such a slow tempo must have been his choice; I doubt that the song was recorded at a slower speed. What are the other songs on which his voice sounds slower to your ears?

48blonde wrote:

Why does Bing's voice sound slow on some later recordings like NOW IS THE HOUR and some others? Did he do this or dtd someone decide to record it at a slower speed?

Carmela, 

As Anton says, though the piece is taken at a slow pace, I don't think that there is anything wrong.

I do wonder what medium you are using - LP/cassette/CD MP3 player - and equipment you might be playing your copy on? From experience I would say that when a slowly paced piece is played back in error at an even slower speed, it sounds more obviously wrong than faster paced items do.   

"Now Is The Hour" should take 3 minutes six seconds from first note to last. The CD copies I have vary between an indicated time of three mintes nine seconds and 3 minutes 11 seconds. The difference is of course attributable to the lead in and lead out silences.  Played at that speed I can detect nothing that sounds "wrong". 

Incidentally, while checking this out, I have been surprised by the number of versions which I have of "Now Is The Hour" - Burl Ives, Frank Sinatra, Marty Robbins, Horace Heidt, Guy Lombardo, Tommy Garrett, Werner Mueller,  an English folk group named The Yetties, and a group formed by the famous red coated elderly former British servicemen called the Chelsea Pensioners!!! - as well as the Maori original Po Atarau sung by Kiri Te Kanawa. Some of them take it a lot slower than Bing!



   

Richard,

Besides Bing's own version, my favorite reading of "Now Is the Hour" is the one that Frank Sinatra included in his little-known but very charming Reprise album Sinatra Sings Great Songs from Great Britain. The concept behind this album, recorded in the U.K., was to include songs written by English songwriters, but it looks like in the case of "Now Is the Hour," Sinatra extended his scope to the former British Empire...  Anyway, Sinatra's Great Britain album is mostly taken at a very slow pace, and it is highly recommendable.

I agree with Jarbie. I don't think the recording of the song is slow - the song itself is long and slow. I used to dislike Now Is The Hour and another slow song Faraway Places. It did seem like Bing dragged on, but everyone who sings those songs sound the same way. Surprisingly, as I am getting older. I am liking those two songs a little bit more.

Ron Field wrote:

'Former British Empire'? More commonly now as the British Commonwealth of Nations, which NZ is along with Australia (some people want a republic but not sure which way to go and certainly not a US style-so hopefully we'll stay put for some time), Canada, Fiji and numerous other countries.

Ron,

My comment about the "former British Empire" was just a joke. I hope I didn't offend anyone by it. If so, I sincerely apologize.
 

I have to mention- When I hear other singers singing Bing's songs, I don't enjoy them as much. It wasn't only that Bing had a great sounding voice, he KNEW how to use it for each song. An easy way to notice this is with the Christmas songs. The First Noel, Bing knew how to adjust his voice perfectly for the song. Silent Night again, Bing's interpretation-Perfect. Bing was a natural at it. Not many people can sing Christmas songs correctly. Bing was one of a few. Bing KNEW how to sing many types of songs, Hyms, Romantic Songs, Country, Jazz, ect..

In my response to David, I was joking with him. I hope I didn't insult anyone. So sorry if I upset anyone here, I didn't mean to.

There are a couple of songs recordings of which offer what seems like an abnormally deep version of Bing's voice, though I don't notice the tempo being wrong.  I can't seem to recall the titles at the moment, but they always startle me when they come up on a compilation I'm listening to.

A lot of people didn't replace their steel needles after every 25 sides the needle played. After that the needles pretty much have worn down into a chisel!