Collector’s Choice Music

Collector's-choice-boxIn 2008 Collector’s Choice Music released a box set of the Tiffany Transcriptions. Collector’s Choice is both a mail order record company and a re-issue label. They send out a paper catalog several times a year filled with older music, on various labels,  crossing a broad spectrum of genres. They also reissue older recordings on their own label. Under the direction of Gordon Anderson (who is no longer with the company) they licensed from Rhino Records all the Bob Wills Tiffany reissue albums that Kaleidoscope Record had originally produced, (Vol. 1 through 9 and the McKinney Sisters) and released them as a box set. Rhino had been slowly letting their reissue CDs of the original Kaleidoscope Records albums go out of print so this was a welcome release for those who did not already own them.

They were released in a small cardboard box with each CD in a mini gatefold jacket using the original Kaleidoscope album covers that graphic artist Elizabeth Weil had designed. Inside and on the back of the gatefold, the original album notes from the musicians were reproduced, but not the notes by Kaleidoscope and not quite all of the original images and graphics. Otherwise, the selection of songs and sequencing were exactly the same as the original Kaleidoscope Records releases. No new tracks were added.  Also enclosed in the box was a 16 page booklet containing notes by Rich Kienzle as well as comments by Ranger Doug (Riders in the Sky, Time Jumpers), Ashley Kingman (Big Sandy & his Fly Rite Boys), Big Sandy, and Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel). The 10 disc set sold for around $110.00

CCM_box_set_This was Collector’s Choice Music’s first box and they made a big deal about it. Unfortunately the actual box was not well constructed and quickly suffered damage. Since this was exactly the same music as the original, and then reissued by Rhino, Kaleidoscope reissues, what was the difference? Collectors Classics made much about how they improved the sound. There was no digital noise reduction when Kaleidoscope released their albums, so on the Collectors Choice version the “clicks” and “pops” have been generally removed which makes for a cleaner sound. There is a small amount of eq difference between the two sets but not enough to really notice unless you made an A-B comparison. The sound is good, but one thing about the Tiffanys was that they were originally recorded really well, and for the most part the original acetate masters were in good condition.

booklet inside ccThe notes by Rich Kienzle give a good description of the scene in California at the time when Bob Wills moved there and has some good background information on Cactus Jack. He discusses the musicians and has some good quotes from them about playing in the band and he goes nicely into the repertoire they played. He doesn’t go too much into the business end of the Tiffany Transcriptions and he did not seek source material, such as what is found on this website. He makes a couple of minor errors1 , but on the whole they are a good complement to the musician’s notes found on the original Kaleidoscope releases. The comments from the contemporary musicians noted above show how much these recordings influenced them and their bands. There are a couple of nice added pictures in the booklet, including one of Wills Point, the ballroom and swimming pool that Wills owned in Sacramento, California.

cc gatefold openThe credits in the booklet give Gordon Anderson the title of “Executive Producer” and Claire Morales credited for “design”. They did not give any credit to the original Kaleidoscope Records production team even though it was a reproduction of Kaleidoscope’s  original reissues. Jeff Alexson and Tom Diamant  who produced the reissue albums for kaleidoscope, chose the songs and sequenced the records, were not credited. Elizabeth Weil who designed the original album covers, every one of them used by Collectors Classic Music in their box set, was not credited. When contacted about this Gordon Anderson said that it was not Collectors Choice Music’s policy to give credit to the original producers on their reissues, but he did say he would give credit if there was a reprint. To his credit there was a reprint and in small print they do give the proper credit to Alexson, Diamant and Weil.

Although the set was well received by reviewers, fans were disappointed. Why were their no new songs and why issue a set of music that was mostly still available?

The set is now out of print but can be found for sale on the various internet sites.

Previous…British Archive of Country Music.……next…Real Gone Music

© 2013, 2015, 2020 tiffanytranscriptions.com.
Please do not reprint anything on this website without permission from tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com

Collector’s Choice Music

Collector's-choice-box

In 2008 Collector’s Choice Music released a box set of the Tiffany Transcriptions. Collector’s Choice is both a mail order record company and a re-issue label. They send out a paper catalog several times a year filled with older music, on various labels,  crossing a broad spectrum of genres. They also reissue older recordings on their own label. Under the direction of Gordon Anderson (who is no longer with the company) they licensed from Rhino Records all the Bob Wills Tiffany reissue albums that Kaleidoscope Record had originally produced, (Vol. 1 through 9 and the McKinney Sisters) and released them as a box set. Rhino had been slowly letting their reissue CDs of the original Kaleidoscope Records albums go out of print so this was a welcome release for those who did not already own them.

They were released in a small cardboard box with each CD in a mini gatefold jacket using the original Kaleidoscope album covers that graphic artist Elizabeth Weil had designed. Inside and on the back of the gatefold, the original album notes from the musicians were reproduced, but not the notes by Kaleidoscope and not quite all of the original images and graphics. Otherwise, the selection of songs and sequencing were exactly the same as the original Kaleidoscope Records releases. No new tracks were added.  Also enclosed in the box was a 16 page booklet containing notes by Rich Kienzle as well as comments by Ranger Doug (Riders in the Sky, Time Jumpers), Ashley Kingman (Big Sandy & his Fly Rite Boys), Big Sandy, and Ray Benson (Asleep at the Wheel). The 10 disc set sold for around $110.00

CCM_box_set_

This was Collector’s Choice Music’s first box and they made a big deal about it. Unfortunately the actual box was not well constructed and quickly suffered damage. Since this was exactly the same music as the original, and then reissued by Rhino, Kaleidoscope reissues, what was the difference? Collectors Classics made much about how improved the sound. There was no digital noise reduction when Kaleidoscope released their albums, so on the Collectors Choice version the “clicks” and “pops” have been generally removed which makes for a cleaner sound. There is a small amount of eq difference between the two sets but not enough to really notice unless you made an A-B comparison. The sound is good, but one thing about the Tiffanys was that they were originally recorded really well, and for the most part the original acetate masters were in good condition.

booklet inside cc

The notes by Rich Kienzle give a good description of the scene in California at the time when Bob Wills moved there and has some good background information on Cactus Jack. He discusses the musicians and has some good quotes from them about playing in the band and he goes nicely into the repertoire they played. He doesn’t go too much into the business end of the Tiffany Transcriptions and he did not seek source material, such as what is found on this website. He makes a couple of minor errors1 , but on the whole they are a good complement to the musician’s notes found on the original Kaleidoscope releases. The comments from the contemporary musicians noted above show how much these recordings influenced them and their bands. There are a couple of nice added pictures in the booklet, including one of Wills Point, the ballroom and swimming pool that Wills owned in Sacramento, California.

cc gatefold open

The credits in the booklet give Gordon Anderson the title of “Executive Producer” and Claire Morales credited for “design”. They did not give any credit to the original Kaleidoscope Records production team even though it was a reproduction of Kaleidoscope’s  original reissues. Jeff Alexson and Tom Diamant  who produced the reissue albums for kaleidoscope, chose the songs and sequenced the records, were not credited. Elizabeth Weil who designed the original album covers, every one of them used by Collectors Classic Music in their box set, was not credited. When contacted about this Gordon Anderson said that it was not Collectors Choice Music’s policy to give credit to the original producers on their reissues, but he did say he would give credit if there was a reprint. To his credit there was a reprint and in small print they do give the proper credit to Alexson, Diamant and Weil.

Although the set was well received by reviewers, fans were disappointed. Why were their no new songs and why issue a set of music that was mostly still available.

The set is now out of print but can be found for sale on the various internet sites.

Previous…British Archive of Country Music.……next…Real Gone Music

© 2013, 2015, 2020 tiffanytranscriptions.com.
Please do not reprint anything on this website without permission from tiffanytranscriptions@gmail.com

5 Responses

  1. Hi

    So when are we likely to see the set re-issued ?
    A 2 disc set is being released this month – these are the missing recordings . Not all , I don’t think .

    Why can’t we have a coherent re-issue program from the owners of the material ?
    Or , better still , give it to Richard Weize at Bear Family and you know the job will be complete and well done .

    Regards

    1. As far as I know there are no plans to re-issue the original Kaleidoscope albums or the Collectors Classics redo of them. The current state of the record business makes it very difficult for re-issues of this type. There’s just no money in it. They are all available to download digitally but it’s not the same as listening to sequenced, curated albums.

      Even after the new 2 CD set on Real Gone there are many more tracks that remain unissued. Most of them of very little interest to the general public. A box set done Bear Family style would be nice, but hardly anyone would listen to it more than once, but i guess that’s the same with many of their sets. I will be seeing Mr. Weize soon and will ask him that question.

      1. I have almost all the Kaleidoscope LP’s and I have enjoyed every minute of it. It was my introduction to Bob Wills and western swing. I still consider them the best western swing recordings ever made! I missed out on the Collectors Classics box set (couldn’t afford it at the time) and I would really welcome a release from Bear Family.
        Many thanks for the fantastic work you’ve done on this site. I just bumped into it today when trying to find information regarding the new 2 CD set by Real Gone. Well done!

  2. I was gratified to see that you credited ME with design of the albums (Tiffany Transcriptions Bob Wills). When it came to the Grammy’s the year the Collector’s Choice boxed set were nominated, I was disappointed that we were not invited.

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