An interesting thought and I for one will investigate.

When I compiled the discography I was certainly not undertaking any detailed comparisons and would have assumed that a commercial LP release would have included the "standard" official recording.

But first a couple of comments

- it is an interesting and exhilarating fact that new takes are being discovered still, after all these years. Another was identified on this board this year of "Winter Wonderland" and in the last ten years or so there have been quite a number of recordings stretching back to the '30s.   

- a recording from that era would have been directly onto a 78 rpm disc and all subsequent LP issues will have been copied from a 78 rpm disc. They are all dubbings, the only thing varying being the quality of the disc being copied. The "official" Decca /Brunswick releases should in theory have come from something pretty close to the original master, "unofficial" issues from commercially released pressings.    

Reference to Colin Pugh's book "Alternate Bing Crosby" has reminded me that he deliberated at some length about the takes of "A Gal In Calico".
Admirable though his work is, it is most unfortunate that he does not reveal in detail the sources from which he was working.

I find what he says a little confusing but on the present evidence I think there are indeed three versions (and I have also compared with the radio recordings, just to eliminate them) 

What we have is, in my view, best summed up by the following -

L4134-A (stated to be rejected) of 22 March 1946
L4169-A (the usually issued take) of 7 May 1946

An alternative which might have come from either session and now discovered by "Brunswick 78" on the Australian MfP CD "16 Original World Hits", also issued in Germany.

At 1.34 approx on L4169-A Bing sings a very positive "I'll" at the start of the second chorus.
In both the other versions he omits the word and goes straight into "-- take my gal"

The differences between the rejected take L4134-A and the Alt are more subtle.
The alt has a slightly more staccato orchestral accompaniment in the opening passage.
Throughout the Alt version Bing places more emphasis on the first word of each phrase and there are differences in timing but I am having difficulty finding a  clear and easy to identify marker. More work is indicated but my feeling, in view of the similarities, is that the Alt was recorded at the same time as the reject L4134-A and presumably rejected for the same reason - the omission of "I'll". Why it should be included on an Australian MfP/Ariola  CD issued right at the start of the CD era is beyond me. 

I do not think that minor differences in total running times can be regarded as definitive because minor differences in transcription speeds can produce startling differences over a period of two to three minutes, and issuers have been known to adjust timings in order to correct pitch.

  
 
 

Hello Richard, thank you for investigating this recording and sharing your findings. I'm glad you agree with me that the version on 16 Original World Hits is different, and thanks for pointing out the changed lyric. Hearing that, it's obvious. I have to admit, I don't have the "Chronological" series, so hadn't heard the "rejected alt." version.

I agree. The differences occur throughout, but all are very slight and which you pick as the defining item will I think still need side by side comparison, unlike many "alts" where there are often very obvious and conclusive differences that stand alone. 

My copy of the "16 Original World Hits" - German pressing - arrived today. It's been fascinating comparing the take on this CD with the two takes on Jonzo 42. Many thanks for the detailed work put into this by both Brunswick78 and Richard.

There's a nice selection on the "16 Original World Hits" CD, with some lesser-known items in - as Brunswick78 points out - some very clear transfers.

Glad to hear it, Jeremy, thanks. Actually, until listening closely to the track I also thought Calico was a place! It doesn't get much mention as a fabric these days...