Aloha Moods

[electra225]

I normally just automatically discard any Longines Symphonette or 101 Strings material I acquire. I find their material pedestrian and bland. If you hear one track, you've pretty much heard them all. This album, "Aloha Moods" is a Longines Symphonette offering, arguably the most enjoyable album they ever made. This doesn't have the tired old strings and off-key vocals. No sir. This album features Hawaiian music. Somebody on this album is doing a very credible job on an Hawaiian steel guitar. In fact, some songs have twin steel guitars. Credible, on-key vocals, "tweedly-tweedly" woodwinds ala Lawrence Welk and even a hint of harpsichord in a spot or two. Not really heavy on bass, but it is pleasant and appropriate. And angel dust. I don't know what instrument makes this sound, but I have always like "squeaky floorboards" sound and "angel dust". This album is generous with angel dust. I played it this afternoon when I was playing around with turntables and cartridges. The Stanton 500 really brings out the sounds on this album. I may have to agree with the audiophiles. There is quite a difference in sound between the Stanton and the Pioneer PC-135. They are also right when they say the cartridge in the PC-135 isn't worth buying a needle for it......

[TC Chris]

"Angel dust"may be a celesta, a.k.a. celeste:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celesta

It's shimmery and bell-like.

Chris Campbell

[William]

In the pipe organ world it would be a Chrysoglott, as noted here:

The term "Chrysoglott" is sometimes used interchangeably with "Celesta" when referring to this type of instrument on a Wurlitzer organ.

Bill

[electra225]

You may not believe this, (I didn't) but I actually found this album on Discography and someone actually posted the entire album on YouTube. I figured this thing would be beyond obsolete, a one of a kind. Nope. It was produced for the Columbia Record Club. I was researching who pressed Longine Symphonette's records. Could this one be on Columbia? I got this record on the turntable of an "all in one" GE stereo at an auction. The record was filthy, and the cover was still in the record storage of the stereo. I cleaned it and it's fairly scratch-free.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ8Kb3hJQD0

The picture of the celeste that Chris posted looks like the "vox" that Floyd Cramer used to make that unusual sound in country music. Do you reckon the vox Cramer used was actually some form of a celeste, de-tuned or re-tuned to make the sounds he wanted?