2003 DECEMBER 25 #359
Here we have both sides of an unlabeled 7" Wilcox Gay Recordio Disc. I have been collecting home recorded acetates for at least 20 years, and this one seemed just right for the 365 days project.
Both sides of this disc are hard to hear at times, being as scratched up as they are, in places, and this is especially true of the A-side, because the participants are somewhat subdued. However, this section contains a sweet, traditional rendition of "Silent Night", followed by one participant trying hard to involve the others in conversation. Something is said about "15 years from now", but much of this portion of the recording is hard to hear, and the words difficult to discern.
By the B-side, although the damage to the record is even greater, the assembled guests seem a bit more engaged in the recording, and are louder than the scratches. This is perhaps due to having listened to, and heard themselves so poorly on the A-side, or (more likely) due to the imbibing of whatever was being served. A few one liners are thrown out, then everyone sings a fairly rollicking version of ""White Christmas", with one reveler in particular adding all sorts of additional comments.
More joking leads to near-simultaneous performances of ""The Night Before Christmas", "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells", to ever increasing hysterics. And then, suddenly, here it is 5:30, and the guests were supposed to be home at 4:30!
Listening to this record, it strikes me that dispite all the vast differences between 1947 and 2003, in certain ways, Christmas celebrations haven't changed as much as we might think they have....
A gigantic thanks to Otis for this project, and another thanks for allowing me to be a part of it.
- Bob Purse
TT-6:32 / 4.5MB / 96kbps 44.1khz (MONO)