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06 Nov 19 - 11:40 AM (#4017501) Subject: Song of Reproduction (At the Drop of a Hat) From: keberoxu More than one live recording exists of At the Drop of a Hat, the Flanders & Swann "farrago" from which this song comes. Which means, that from one version to the next, the words may vary, although the music is pretty much the same. So if these words differ from the version you recall, it's because they come from a recording of a different performance. This performance was released on Parlophone and recorded in the Fortune Theatre roughly one year into the "farrago"'s successful run. SONG OF REPRODUCTION Words by Michael Flanders Music by Donald Swann Introduction (sung) I had a little gramophone, I'd wind it round and round, And with a sharpish needle, It made a cheerful sound. And then they amplified it, It was much louder then: And used sharpened fiber needles To make it soft again. Today for reproduction I'm as eager as can be: Count me among the faithful fans Of High -- Fi - de - li - ty! first chorus High Fidelity! Hi - Fi's the thing for me, With an LP disc and an FM set And a corner reflex cabinet. High frequency range Complete with auto-change! All the highest notes, neither sharp nor flat: The ear can't hear as high as that! Still, I ought to please any passing bat With my High Fidelity! Swann, not singing, plays the piano, a 'vamp' on the chorus. Flanders stops singing and speaks the following over the piano. Who made this circuit up for you, anyway? You bought it in a shop?! Hoo, what a terrible job. You've got your negative feedback coupled in with your push-pull input-output. Take that across through your red-headed pickup to your tweeter ... If you're modding more than eight, you're gonna get wow on your top! You try to bring that down through your rumble filter to your woofer, and what'll you get? Flutter on your bottom!! second chorus High Fidelity! 'ffrr' for me! I've an opera here that you shan't escape On miles and miles of recording tape. High decibel gain Is easy to obtain. With a tone control at a single touch, I can make a Caruso sound like 'Hutch'. But then, I never did care for music much: It's the High Fidelity! Copyright to the Estate of Flanders & Swann / EMI Records |
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06 Nov 19 - 06:43 PM (#4017597) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: keberoxu And here is that very performance. "Song of Reproduction," performed 1957 |
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06 Nov 19 - 07:15 PM (#4017603) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: keberoxu "I can make a Caruso sound like 'Hutch' " -- see Mudcat thread on Leslie 'Hutch' Hutchison (1900 - 1969) |
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07 Nov 19 - 05:17 AM (#4017632) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: GUEST This song always reminds me of a Punch cartoon where a hifi enthusiast with complicated equipment is saying to a friend: "...and if you listen carefully you can even hear where Satchmo drops his handkerchief"! RtS (Flanders and Swann fan: we often try to offend as many of our foreign friends as possible with the "Song of Patriotic Prejudice") |
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07 Nov 19 - 10:06 AM (#4017633) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: GUEST,keberoxu Ah, GUEST, but have you heard their "Bring Back the Birch" ? |
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07 Nov 19 - 12:46 PM (#4017657) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: Roger the Skiffler The anon post was from me: just cleaned up the computer and didn't reset cookie! Our party piece is Mud Mud Glorious Mud. We've got an international audience singing it on many a Greek holiday! RtS |
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07 Nov 19 - 06:47 PM (#4017757) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: GUEST,keberoxu Oh, and when I first heard this song I was a very young child indeed, and entirely clueless about all this hi-fi jargon. So I thought Flanders had blurted out "Flatter on your bottom!!" |
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10 Nov 19 - 04:32 PM (#4018382) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: Mo the caller I've enjoyed their songs (may even have a record somewhere) but can't remember the birch. |
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10 Nov 19 - 04:45 PM (#4018384) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: High Fidelity (Flanders & Swann) From: Mo the caller Ah, google brings me back to Mudcat for Bring back the Birch And I'm listening to The Slow Train as I write, I'd forgotten that one. |
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13 Nov 19 - 03:09 PM (#4018949) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Song of Reproduction (Flanders & Swann) From: keberoxu Re: Song of Reproduction: what are "fibre needles"? |
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13 Nov 19 - 07:26 PM (#4018983) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Song of Reproduction (Flanders & Swann) From: Thomas Stern http://www.sparkplug.org.uk/wardworks/Gramophone/index.html for playing 78rpm records (in the old days) the stylus was a steel needle, loud or soft variations. To reduce wear on the records, a plant based material (thorn) could be used, which also produced a lower sound volume than steel. Thomas. |
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14 Nov 19 - 02:36 PM (#4019174) Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Song of Reproduction (Flanders & Swann) From: Joe_F T.S.: During W.W.2, IIRC, it was considered patriotic to use fiber needles to save steel for the war effort. |