Gracie Fields - Favourites and Rarities
Gracie Fields: Favourites and Rarities
By Grace Fields
Very Good Condition. (Includes Cd, jewel case, and original artwork, all in very good condition.)
The fifth Gracie CD, and fourth to be issued in 1989, was ‘Favourites and Rarities’ on Flapper. This was Pearl’s ‘popular’ label. The late Charles Haynes was one of the leading lights behind this label, acting as a sort of producer. Charles contacted record collectors and ‘hired’ their records for issue on Pearl or Flapper. Transfers were usually by Colin Atwell, as they are here. Pearl and Flapper’s boast on their sleeve notes was that they gave you more of the ‘original, real sound’ and they certainly did! There was no digital processing and very little filtering. The sound is virtually straight off the record with plenty of ‘original, real’ crackle. However, the ear quickly adjusts and the basic sound is good. It helps that the original records used for ‘Favourites and Rarities’ are in good condition. They come from the collection of Maurice Warburton. Being a 1989 issue the CD includes a few Regal Zonophone tracks recorded in 1938. It became popular in the 1970s and 80s for pop stars to have their own, personalised record numbers but Gracie did it first! She had her own matrix series for these new Regal Zonophone records (not the HMV reissues) – 0GF 1, 0GF 2, etc. It is often wrongly written as OGF (letter O rather than number 0) and that mistake appears in this booklet. The 0 stands for 10 inch record. Had there been any 12 inch records in the series their matrices would have been 2GF. The sleeve notes for this CD are written by Gracie biographer Joan Moules.
Track Listing
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1 Looking On The Bright Side
2. Isle Of Capri
3. Painting The Clouds With Sunshine
4. Biggest Aspidistra In The World
5. Sing As We Go
6. Body And Soul
7. Sally
8. You're More Than All The World To Me
9. Love In Bloom
10. Stormy Weather
11. Ring Down The Curtain
12. I Give My Heart
13. Oh Mamma (The Butchers Boy)
14. Where Are You
15. Turn 'Erbert's Face To The Wall Mother
16. Old Violin
17. Snow White
18. Holy City
19. Now It Can Be Told
20. Gracie's Hit Medley
21. Alexander's Ragtime Band
22. Love Is Everywhere
23. Melody At Dawn