Album Notes

Music hath the power to soothe the savage beast. Over the ages, mankind has found relaxation, entertainment and new meaning to life by this power. The ability to make music is as unique to the human being as is the power of reasoning.

And yet, the making of music would not have progressed beyond the stand-up chamber acapella stage if Thomas Alva Edison had not invented the phonograph. It is the recording of sound and the critical analysis that is thereby made possible that contributes to improved techniques and technology. From the crude tinfoil-based contraption he initially experimented with in 1917, onto the wieldier and versatile wax cylinder - of which the once popular LP was the direct descendant - Edison was the pioneer of immortalizing music and sound in general for posterity. He gave the world its first recordings through his National Phonograph Company. Though his patent was eventually improved upon by others and he finally ceased production of recorded music, we cannot forget that it was Thomas Edison who is, by implication, the father of recorded sound. For that reason alone, his early recordings are a matter of historical importance.

In Edison Sound Recordings - (Popular Instrumental Music) Audio CD from the A2ZCDS series, you will hear some of the world’s timeless favorite instrumentals the way they were recorded for the very first time. There is an all-pervading atmosphere of awe as the crude instruments mesh in melody for the benefit of rudimentary recording equipment. Tunes like the 12th Street Rag as performed by the Imperial Marimba Band and Rudolf Friml’s ‘Allah’s Holiday’ speak to us from over a chasm of almost a century. The musical mystery tour continues with ‘In A Monastery Garden’ performed by the Peerless orchestra and an accompanying male chorus and proceeds to the lively ‘Kitten on the Keys’ by Zez Confrey. The United States Marine Band is represented in the ‘True to the Flag march’, and one cannot help but be moved by the historical recording of ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever March’, again by the Imperial Marimba Band.

Welcome to a tantalizing glimpse of musical history in this amazing compilation - above all, a tribute to Thomas Edison, who made the concept of recorded sound possible in the first place.

EDITORIAL REVIEW
This historical ride down the corridors of music has many landmarks along the way - 18 in all. Each is a carefully preserved and restored ‘blast from the past’ in the ultimate sense of the term. They take you from one musical discipline to another, but the switchover is effortless because the listener is at no point tempted to critically analyze the music itself. This would be as foolhardy as trying to aesthetically judge the gigantic statues that guard Egypt’s ancient Valley of the Kings....

Suspend all you ever held was true of music, because this is where the very Truth was born. You do not question timeless monoliths - rather, you reflect on the triumph of human endeavor that made their production possible. Edison Sound Recordings - (Popular Instrumental Music) Audio CD is, at the root level, an act of homage to the very concept of humankind’s love of music. Above that, it edifies the one man who gave us most of the inventions with which we define our world with today - Thomas Edison, inventor of recorded sound.

CUSTOMER'S REVIEWS
"This is a groundbreaking CD - who would ever have thought of making such rarities available to everyday people? I have a friend who prides himself in his collection of old recordings - well, I guess my set of Edison Sound Recordings CDs will shut him up for good. I particularly enjoyed the Popular Instrumental Music, being a fan of military marching stuff. I’m extremely happy with this purchase I have made from A2ZCDS."

Customer's Name: Evelyn Freeman (St. Paul, Minnesota)



"It’s like a walk down the aisles of some old, venerable temple. I was tempted to believe that this is a hoax - that these are not actually historic recordings from T.A. Edison’s company. But the contents are genuine, unembellished and absolutely awesome. I guess what this CD (Edison Sound Recordings - (Popular Instrumental Music) Audio CD) gave me above everything else was a new respect for Edison. The man was truly a world-changer."

Customer's Name: Calista McGregor (Kenner, Lousiana)