Ok, back to more serious stuff. After two days of war comments, I want to give you an update on the Allan Sherman box set called "My Son, the Box". In a previous blog, I was happy that Warner Bros. finally saw fit to release the entire back catalog of Allan Sherman's material onto CD. Unfortunately, Rhino Handmade was the releasing label who gave it a limited release of 4000 copies and charged $120 for the 6-CD set. I saw the set at Tower Records retailing for $132!!
Well, after a bit of patience, I was able to secure a new copy of the set from Amazon for just under $100, thanks to my tax refund. Though still pricey, after I played the opening bars of "The Ballad of Harry Lewis" in its CRYSTAL CLARITY, I got goosebumps. So after all of my bitching and moaning, I have to say that the set is definitely worth the investment.
Too bad that they didn't include the "Peter and the Kommissar", but at least that's available elsewhere. Same with the songs Sherman sang when he voiced the Cat in the Hat for the animated special in the early 70s. And the rumored golf jokes album is nowhere to be seen, and methinks he never actually recorded any of the material before his untimely death in 1973.
The box does reveal that there were a few unreleased tracks that still remain that way due to publishing rights, but there's so much rare and unreleased anyway (and again that CRYSTAL CLARITY) makes up for it.
Happy, happy, happy!!! Now, if they could give the same box set treatment for Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, The Smothers Brothers, and Jonathan Winters (utilizing rare and unreleased stuff as well as completing the unreleased back catalog), then Rhino Handmade will become my label of choice!
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Regards,
Mark Arnold
http://funideas.home.att.net
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