The Final Act For Analogue Productions RCA Living Stereo Vinyl Series

[@roncronovich9095]

Not surprised that Chad watches your channel. Your reviews of AP/QRP titles are the most thoughtful, informative, and helpful of any I’ve seen. And I’ve seen quite a lot.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I know you have! Thanks for coming along for the ride! love having you here. Thank you for your kind words.

[@bobmurphy3061]

Thanks for the heads up on rca living stereo. I now look for them at my local thrift stores. Today I found LSC 6068, Piano Quartets, for 3 dollars. It is in excellent condition and the sound blew me away!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Bob, Thanks for watching! I love finding the originals in the wild. I'm not even sure I have the one you found!

[@roncronovich9095]

Thanks for the heads up. I’ve already bought all the AP RCA LS titles still available, except one or two that I’m not that excited about. But this is incredibly valuable advice for fans of this series. And as we know, it is an EXCEPTIONAL series - absolutely superb recordings and ridiculously great SQ. Thanks as always for your great work’ Warmly, Ron C

[@Bob-sw2zj]

Thanks again for another concise video without all the fluff of other well-known YT vinyl reviewers. Every sentence is thoughtful and interesting. I am one of those people who pushed the Rubinstein record into the "top sellers" list after watching your last video. It is great. Chad should definitely send you complimentary records to review because you would do an honest and thorough review. I'm really curious about the AP new Beatles releases. Happy Thanksgiving!!

[@brucehanon8945]

Hi; Scott, I was lucky enough to get a number of original 2-track master copies from the original masters. The Nevsky, I have was sent to the plant that produced cassette tapes for RCA in the 1960's. I also have the Athena and the AP's. All are good, but the 2-track's are the best by far. Thank-you for this series since RCA's and Mercury's have always been my passion. Bruce

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Bruce! I can only imagine how those tapes sound! I would think the Alexander Nevsky would benefit most from being free of the limitations of the vinyl edition.

[@carlosvargas3423]

Hello Scott! Hope you doing well. I´m Carlos. I live in Lisbon/Portugal. Love your channel and your reviews. I also watch Audiophilia with you and Anthony. I´m addicted to classical music and audiophile vinyl. I wish all the best for you. Best regards.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Carlos! So great to have you here, and with the gang at Everything Classical. There's some great classical content coming up that you are sure to love too.

[@carlosvargas3423]

I certainly won't miss those contents. Best regards Scott.

[@vintagevinylvets1187]

Thank you for the heads up Scott. Love your channel!🎧

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thanks, glad you enjoy the channel!

[@jeffwhitehead6268]

Thank you for sharing the news on the fate of the AP RCA Living Stereo, Scott. I was able to grab one of the last Petroushka’s online for not too much. I’ve been waiting for a repress on Music For Strings for quite a while now though, and am giving up. Kind of a thrill to have to order one from Bartok’s homeland! Some might eventually become available for less in the States, but I don’t wanna risk it. Music For Strings is a favorite, as is ANYTHING Ryan K Smith does. I am going with the strategy of 3 RCAs a month from Acoustic Sounds (free shipping) ‘til I get all I want. While I’ve had a handful of the AP RCAs for years, it was your reviews of the AP RCAs starting a year or so ago along with a bad case of classical-itis from the DG Original Source Series that got me slowly ordering the AP RCA titles again. A big thanks to you, Anthony, and everyone else on the Audiophilia Everything Classical stream, Scott!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thanks, Jeff, for this great comment. I'm glad you were able to get Petrouchka, asxim afraid we've seen the last of that one. I have 3 in my cart also, and will probably hit the buy bottom tonight. I realized there is no easy way to figure out how many of each are left, so I've decided on my next ones by just picking favorites. I’m also going to grab another AP Classical that sort of went under the radar, the Milstein Masterpieces on Capitol. I'd hate to miss that. I'm fortunate to have an original and was listening to it last night. It's fantastic, but the vinyl quality is not as good as RCA’s, so I think this will be a treat. There's also the Bruno Walter Beethoven I’ve been meaning to get. I'll have reviews of these and my next three Living Stereo titles soon. I hope you can score the Bartok. If I see it anywhere, I'll let you know.

[@jeffwhitehead6268]

@ Thanks Scott. I ordered the last Bartok:Music For Strings on Discogs from Hungary earlier tonight. Fingers crossed. Shipping was less than Canada or England and feedback was great. I figure the Hungarian Sketches should carry extra weight actually coming from Hungary! 🤣

[@ThePressingMatters]

I hope it arrives safely. Its a beauty.

[@MichaelVinyl75]

Thank you for the video Scott. I ordered the Petrushka on Discogs. Seems that there aren’t many left and prices are going up.

[@ThePressingMatters]

That was a smart move. Let me know how you like it.

[@John-n9m7r]

Very informative Scott! It’s great that Chad reached you, and sad to contemplate the important contacts we all probably miss in wariness of spam and scam in this crazy age. Petrouchka is one of my favorite Stravinsky works; too bad that version has sold out. I actually like a low-luster cover, no glare on display. Thank you for this video and keep pressing on!

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@John-n9m7r It was a memorable moment for sure. I'll be doing more of the series of course, but will turn my attention to the other great labels.

[@celtic-audiophile]

I just bought the same one, arrived this week. Don’t normally like Choral, but as you say it’s incredibly powerful.

[@celtic-audiophile]

Testament have the 1947 Petrushka repressed for £20. You should consider their remaining catalogue before it’s all gone as the owner has passed. The Q of thier catalogue is superb and great value, every single album £20 so worth shipping to the US

[@ThePressingMatters]

Good tip! I have many but not that one.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Roaring waves of sound!

[@bruceanderson5525]

Many, many thanks. I had no idea that anyone else cared about the Living Sterso series.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Bruce, Thank you for watching! Yes I've been covering the series in a series of videos over the last few years

[@Andrew_from_Oz_Vinyl_Landscape]

Nothing better than waking on a Sunday to one of your new videos Scott. Thanks so much for your thoughtful reviews.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Andrew, Thanks so much for your contributions to the various threads for these videos. Your knowledge is much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@Andrew_from_Oz_Vinyl_Landscape]

@@ThePressingMattersyou know Monteux conducted the first performance in 1911.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@Andrew_from_Oz_Vinyl_Landscape oh, that's right! An important detail I had forgotten. Thanks for bringing it up.

[@morganfralick1220]

Thanks!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you for supporting The Pressing Matters! Your donation is much appreciated 😀

[@marcoverges168]

Thanks Scott! Great video

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you so much Marco, for supporting my work! It makes a big difference!

[@richardriley4415]

Another informative show. Sorry, I was late to the live. I'm going to check out that Rubinstein video right now.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Thank you Richard. I've listed all my Living Stereo videos in the description box. Hope you've seen some of the older ones too!

[@jasonwhiton174]

Thanks for the heads up, Scott! I've collected so many of the AP editions on vinyl and SACD, but there are a number I hadn't ordered yet. Sorry I missed the Petrushka. I perhaps (very) foolishly purged my large collection of original mono and stereo pressings last summer to save space, help pay for a series of surgeries I've needed (bummer!), and help me focus my listening. That said, I definitely have wanted all of these fresh pressings, so I'll need to make some new orders.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I'm starting to have to save space too so I'm being very careful what I let go of. I have some doubles and enen a few triples or the original pressings and I decided to keep one original and one Classic. Them AP came along and I need all three! You can't win!

[@jasonwhiton174]

@@ThePressingMatters I know what you mean! lol. The listener and collector in me wants to enjoy the beauty of the artifacts and compare pressings. I was just going to purge a few originals that seemed musty, but a truck was coming from Amoeba to pick up stuff to sell and I just decided to let go... maybe of too much. Not only LS, but very clean original Londons and Mercurys, too. As painful as that feels when I face it, my room does feel more open and I have less to keep track of.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@jasonwhiton174 I’m glad i hung onto the originals in this case, as I had no idea I'd be needing to do these comparisons until I started the channel three years ago. But the time is coming to downsize a bit.

[@CUBICUB]

Thanks for suggestions

[@ThePressingMatters]

Absolutely. You can check all my Living Stereo reviews that are listed in the description box. Lots of great info!

[@raywelsh5335]

Hey Scott. My Rubenstein arrived mid-week, thanks for the tip, love it. I'll have a look on their website and see if there is anything else I fancy. Also Pre-ordered the Birth of Blue. I am guessing you are picking that up too. See you in the next 'Everything Classical' stream. Cheers!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Rey, Glas you loved the Rubinstein. Its such a classic and he plays it beautifully. I will order Birth of Blue and have a review on it.

[@MichaelRMarshall1]

Great to know that you made the radar of Acoustic Sounds and Chad Kassem. It would seem to me that they would (or should know) who is discussing their releases (especially a vinyl series that has been on the market for quite some time). Any sort of "spike" in sales would certainly get my attention and I would want to know what might be driving these sales. I personally purchased the two (2) Reiner LP's from Acoustic Sounds that you highlighted a few episodes ago and I have NOT purchased any of the Living Stereo reissue series previously. Regardless as to why Chad reached out, maybe moving forward you get some promotional releases for review on your channel. It would be interesting to know how many of your viewers are also clients of Acoustic Sounds. I would also be interested in knowing what amount of product purchasing trends Acoustic Sounds has seen after one of your videos. A fair amount of my previous work life was spent in analytics and sales planning on the pharmaceutical industry so a lot of this is of interest to me above and beyond the music. Well done...Cheers!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Yes, it was really cool to have communication with someone who I've admired for many years, and have talked about so many times during the few years of doing the channel. I had always heard of “influencers” and never really considered I had any! But people do respond to my videos, and I am very careful to be thoughtful about what I recommend. I would hate for anyone to be disappointed. Promos are welcome of course as we can't buy everything. Its slowly happening, and helps keep the content varied and interesting.

[@MichaelRMarshall1]

Yes, it is a very good feeling when those that you admire both acknowledge you and your work. I think a lot of us in the "older" demographic (45+ years) find the term "influencer" a little trite, etc. Then there are a few people such as yourself, who like to review things that are obviously important to them and want to share with "the masses" their knowledge, experiences and thoughts/ideas in a thoughtful, respectful and honest manner. I guess what I am saying is that "this old man had best get over whatever ideas, thoughts, prejudices or whatever that may be, get and get with the program as it exists in 2024." With that now off my chest, you are indeed an "influencer" and one that has got the attention of the top manufacturer and seller of audiophile physical media in the United States if not the world. Keep doing what you're doing and don't change your approach one bit. I do think Chad could benefit from your channel as you highlight much of what has made Acoustic Sounds so popular and successful. After all, it's the music AND the pressing that matters...Cheers!

[@ThePressingMatters]

@@MichaelRMarshall1 I know, I'm not fond of the term either lol.

[@MichaelRMarshall1]

@@ThePressingMatters And the "old man that needed to get over it" that I was referring to was "me"! Keep up the great work, Scott and I look forward to your next review... cheers!

[@JustFortheRecord66]

Sorry to hear that AP may not repress or have anymore stock of their LSC titles. I haven’t wanted to replace the Classic Records titles I already have, however, I’d really like to obtain the LSCs that Classic did not do. Although , I have most of the original SDs of them in my collection.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I have the same thoughts as you. I have most all the originals and a complete line of Classics. I picked up some of the top shelf APs and will be focusing on the ones Classic never did, like these and the Rubinstein reviewed last time. Will be getting to more soon.

[@chrismckee4154]

Disappointing but not surprising. I got a lot of these on SACD years ago but when I got back into vinyl, I tried to get the ones missing from that collection from AP; oftentimes based on your reviews, so thanks for all your guidance in that regard!

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Chris, You're welcome, and of course there will be more reviews to come until then well runs dry. I picked out my next two already.

[@stephenchen1420]

In case you're not familiar with Alexander Nevsky, Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber stole the Teuton motif from "Battle on the Ice" as his main "Phantom of the OPera" motif.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I didn't know that! But if one is going to “borrow,” he may as well go for the best. Not only spectacular music but a stunning scene in the original Eisenstein film. Thanks for this information!

[@audiophileman7047]

It was all predicted in 1956 when Chuck Berry sang these immortal words, "Roll over Beethoven. Tell Tchaikovsky the news...Roll over Beethoven. Diggin' them rhythm and blues...". The decline of interest in classical music may have been predicted, but you can't keep good things down for long. If Chad doesn't press these records, someone else will to some extent someday. The music is too important to allow it to fall in the dust bin of history. Since I'm so busy, I don't have time to seek out the remaining Living Stereo titles from Acoustic Sounds. If I choose to buy them, I'll have to buy them in the aftermarket if they go out of stock. That's "life in the big city".

[@ThePressingMatters]

Absolutely right. There is currently recording activity in Classical, and for the most part its digital today. There are some successful audiophile digital remastering of analog masters being done by high end company Esoteric, and tbough i havent heard one yet, those whos ears i trust say they have done a brilliant job witb some Decca material. Costly though, at least on vinyl.

[@audiophileman7047]

@@ThePressingMatters There's always the second hand venues; classical is still the best bargain out there for preowned vinyl. Christmas is coming and my birthday is in January. I often share a vinyl records wish list with my wife for gift giving. If you could only have 3 of these classical Living Stereo in stock reissues from AP/QRP, what would they be?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Let me give the recommendations some thought. As to used classical, yes, that's where its at!

[@audiophileman7047]

@@ThePressingMatters Thanks, and I look forward to hearing what you think. I picked some LS titles from Chad's video on his top ten list of classical albums to own and added them to my wish list.

[@mcgjohn22]

am sorry to hear the Living Stereo titles are not being re-pressed. But similar event happened with the Beach Boys re-issues, the Bill Evans Riverside box set and others. It appears there is no longer a huge demand for these L.S. titles from Acoustics Sounds current customer base. If there was, then AS would ask to have the licenses extended to continue pressing more copies. Classical music is having a tough time. Lower vinyl sales, fewer re-issues, lower attendance levels at live concerts, etc. If a person goes back to the early days of TAS, HP, Sid Marks and others ranted about the sonic qualities of the Living Stereo and Merc Living Presence titles since most audiophiles of that era were very interested in the music and hearing the acoustical space the recording was made in. Today audiophiles and non-audiophiles seem to have very little interest in hearing this. Back in the early days of Mercury, many great recordings were done of the Detroit Symphony at Cass Technical High School auditorium. Cass was picked over Detroit Orchestra hall for its superior acoustics. At some point if a person really wants one of these copies they will have to hunt for them on Ebay or Discogs just like the original Classic Records releases Mike Hobson released.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Great observations, thank you for commenting on this.

[@historybuff0393]

Scott, did Chad happen to mention if their Mercury Living Presence series is going to meet the same fate? 😮

[@ThePressingMatters]

No he did not, but I wouldn’t expect any new titles from Mercury. At least not from AP. When you think of it, high end audio is a small niche, vinyl records even more so and classical music sort of puts the nail in that coffin. I don't think you can sustain something like this if you only sell 1,000 copies of a title over this length of time. This was a labor of love, and started at a time it was more realistic.

[@markdecker2112]

I am wondering if Sony is seeing how Deutsche Gramophone is doing on their Original Source Series and not re-licensing their catalog (RCA included) in the hopes of doing something similar. At least that's what I am telling myself for the future of classical on vinyl. I bought the original Rubinstein massive box set when it came out on CD, then I purchased all the RCA issued SACDs, then I bought all the Analogue Production SACDs, and now I am thinking if I need the vinyl equivalents of these.

[@ThePressingMatters]

That would be nice, and it makes sense to us, but maybe not the bean-counters. Lets hope so! Sounds like you are like me as far as Living Stereo, a full line of original shaded dogs, a full line of Classic Records and Chesky vinyl, all the BMG SACDs and individual CDs. Now I'm going for all the AP vinyl.

[@markdecker2112]

@@ThePressingMatters I think I will head that direction as well. I have been trying to keep up with a couple of series: the Craft Original Jazz Classics line, and Atlantic 75 series...what's a couple more per month?

[@ThePressingMatters]

Some might say we're crazy!

[@mr.classicalmusic5607]

I wish AP could have released many more classical titles.

[@ThePressingMatters]

Me too. Perhaps they could do an occasional title, something special a couple of times a year.

[@mr.classicalmusic5607]

@@ThePressingMatters That would be nice. Horowitz recorded one Living Stereo album released 1960 that would make a wonderful release. I'm glad you got to talk with Chad.

[@ThePressingMatters]

@ That one would be an interesting choice. I'd love a choice EMI like Antil’s Corroboree or how about Lyrita’s Malcolm Arnold Dances. Sure fire best sellers!

[@mr.classicalmusic5607]

@@ThePressingMatters We can hope!

[@chrislj2890]

I went through what they have again and there was nothing to add to the 58 I already have. What really annoys me is that they keep ones in there like the Petrushka that aren't in stock and apparently never will be. And the prices on a lot of the pre-owned seem ludicrous to me. I always watch the Acoustic Sounds channel on Friday and it seems they love reissues and remasters of the same things over and over, or reissues of goofy and bizarre stuff I can't imagine very many people want. Chad seems to be fixated on old jazz, and it's shame most people are totally ignorant of classical music.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I always use their search narrowing feature ar the bottom of each page. Nice that you have most of them. Is there any you might recommend as favorites. I'm sure many viewers are looking for feedback on what to buy.

[@chrislj2890]

@@ThePressingMatters Oh my goodness, that's a bit difficult. Anything with Jascha Heifetz or Artur Rubinstein of course. And all of the records with Fritz Reiner and Stokowski conducting. The Scheherazade and Witches Brew, and the Sibelius Sym.5 and Karelia Suite is a really good one. I'm afraid I pretty much love them all, if not for the music itself then just for the historical significance. Right now I'm listening to Santana's Abraxas LP and lovin' it too.

[@davidgow9457]

Thanks for the advice on not waiting to buy AP RCAs. As you say the classical reissue market is not very active. It is a great pity that Warner and Sony have not copied DG. My own view is that there is a surfeit of good NM used classical vinyl at reasonable prices - this makes it difficult for the economics of classical reissues. Jazz and rock are different - there is much less NM used vinyl and reissues are thus more profitable. I hope I am wrong but do not think so.

[@ThePressingMatters]

I just was browsing classical vinyl in general in the Acoustic Sounds site and I saw a few things I'd had on my wishlist, one from Columbia and one from Capitol. I will get them and feature in an upcoming video.

[@ergloo6660]

I bought all of the AP prestige series as the music's marvellous and they cannot stay in print ever. A few years ago Chad did a video on YT saying get them as will not be repressed once gone as end of licence

[@ThePressingMatters]

Yes, I've been slowly getting things from the Prestige Series. Beautiful series of records.

[@scottwheeler2679]

I trust you. But I don't trust Chad. He has a history about these things

[@ThePressingMatters]

Hi Scott, i appreciate your trust in me. I really do think Chad was earnest in his reply to my question. After all he didn't contact me about this issue, but about Soular Energy. He was even surprised that I was able to get the Rachmaninoff. He assumed it was sold out. I'm pretty certain there won't be a return of the series. The interest in classical gets smaller as the years go on.

[@classicalemotion]

Abbado did a so much better version of Nevsky than Reiner and Slatkin, and it is in Russian

[@ThePressingMatters]

I will have to check it out! Thanks!

[@markdecker2112]

Originally in Analog, so perhaps an "Original Source" choice? Not sure if its a quad master or not. Abbado / LSO was magnificent in this.