GREAT DAY { 0:00 }
WITHOUT A SONG { 2:45 }
Hal Swain and his Band – Vocalists: Hal Swain with Cecil Woods +1; and Hal Swain, respectively
Broadcast 632 (October 1930)
Between recording for Columbia's Regal and Crystalate's Imperial, Hal Swain had eight recording sessions for Vocalion's 8-inch format Broadcast; and these are the first two sides that he cut at the first session.
I’ve not heard many Hal Swain records, but this one is odd. On the evidence of WITHOUT A SONG, his singing left a lot to be desired; and the sound of the band is odd – sometimes like Alfredo’s, sometimes like the colliery brass band. None of his musicians, as listed by Rust for this session, are names I know (though that’s no criterion).
The rendition of WITHOUT A SONG was not what I expected; and near the end {a couple of seconds after 5:25} something strange happens to the beat. I’ve run this under several styli from 3.0 to 4.5 mil; and it happens on all of them, and there’s nothing on the record by way of damage or pressing fault.
For those who study the images: you can make out the matrix marks in the shellac under the labels. When Vocalion first introduced the 8-inch Broadcast, the matrix mark was also printed on the label - upside down to the right of the record catalogue number.
